


Rather Die then Confess

by Flamedra121



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Culture, And wait 3000+ chapters and another book for them to kiss, Angst, Banter, Comfort/Angst, Denial of Feelings, Hanahaki Disease, I should've tilted this; "Frieza suffering for most of the chapters", Icejin Headcanons, Jealousy, LIKE SUPER SLOW BURN JESUS ALMIGHTY, M/M, Mild obsession?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, This is the hell I have created, Welcome to the fic where Frieza hates himself and everyone around him, Welcome to; "One character is oblivious of his feelings and the other is literally dying of them", headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-01-20 16:52:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 71,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18529186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamedra121/pseuds/Flamedra121
Summary: Frieza keeps getting visits from Goku, which leads to the Icejin finding out a truth he's been avoiding to acknowledge for some time.Until a fatal disease forces him too.





	1. Chapter 1

It all started with the occasional visits Frieza would get from Goku, the simian always intent on sparring with the Icejin. Frieza was obviously reluctant, but the constant nagging of the Saiyan forced his hand.  
  
It was quite a comfortable rhythm the two of them settled into. Every week or so, they would spar with each other...Though, the tyrant couldn't exactly recall when their set rhythm changed.  
  
One day, after a long, and tiring spar, Goku started a conversation with him. After that, they began to have a conversation after every spar.  
  
As time progressed, the time they spent sparring together slowly started to dwindle. Soon, it got to the point, that most of the time they were together, it was spent talking about mundane things, instead of actually sparring.  
  
Perhaps that's when the tyrant's cold heart started to beat a little faster every time he saw the Saiyan.  
  
Oh, how Frieza hated, yet adored the feeling so much. It was like a drug, the Saiyan. He knew it was wrong to fall for the person he hated more than anything in the entire multiverse, but he just couldn't help himself.  
  
He hated Goku, he hated these weak feelings, but he couldn't stop acknowledging how every time the Saiyan appeared, his day seemed to brighten ever so slightly.  
  
He denied every little touch that would make something in him flutter, he denied every single disgustingly, romantic, thought he ever had about the simian. He did all of this while at the same time feeding his ever growing need to see the Saiyan.

* * *

  
Frieza watched silently from his spot, as the Saiyan dramatically sat down besides him. The ape was heaving quite heavily, his head thrown back, arms seeming shaky as they tried to hold his upper body up.  
  
The Icejin was quite exhausted himself, yet his quiet panting definitely paled in comparison to Goku's over exaggerated gasps of breath. The ape, in Frieza's opinion, was overdoing it.  
  
Goku then got into a much more relaxed position, with his hands gently laying in his lap. The Saiyan's breathing also became much more reasonable than the heaving that almost made it sound like Goku was breathing his last breath.  
  
Suddenly Goku's face turned to the Icejin, a classic grin greeting the tyrant. Once again, Frieza felt that fluttering. He allowed himself to bask in the nice feeling for just a second, before forcing himself to ignore it all together. Returning back to his usual cold self.  
  
Frieza greeted the blinding smile with a small quirk of his own lips, a subtle way to let the Saiyan know he was enjoying himself.  
  
They were currently on an uninhabited, desolate, planet, his ship somewhere off in the distance. The ape always wanted to spar on these barren planets, due to his fear of accidentally harming an inhabitant. Frieza thought it was unnecessary, but then again, their morals were quite different.

"We really stepped it up a bit huh? I'm exhausted!" The tyrant was brought out of his thoughts we he heard the Saiyan's boisterous voice, a noise he's started to grow, embarrassingly, fond of.

Goku leaned in more towards the Icejin, his usual expression still on his face,"How about you?" He asked curiously.

The Icejin rolled his eyes,"I thought it was obvious by the way I'm breathing, but then again I wasn't wheezing like you, was I?" Frieza teased, earning a harmless pout in response. He hated to admit it, but he was always eager to start the light banter with the Saiyan. 

Goku just turned away from the smug icejin, his arms crossed like a defiant child. All Frieza could do was smirk at the display, knowing this was all an act on Goku's part. 

As expected Goku turned around to once again face Frieza, a small smirk on his own face. Frieza allowed himself to slouch a bit, his chin resting comfortably on the back of his hand.

"Done acting like a child?" The Icejin playfully said, smirk still displayed on his pale complexion. The Saiyan shrugged nonchalantly, "I'll stop acting like one, when you stop acting like one." The Saiyan replied.

Of course, it wasn't hard to guess that the Saiyan was teasing Frieza about how childish he could be. Frieza just shook his head with a smirk, his tail swaying back and forth in a delighted manner, "Oh how you insult me so, Saiyan." Playfully replied back.

 As dimwitted as Goku was, he was surprisingly always a joy to tease, and banter with. 

The smug look on Goku's face was quickly wiped off, instead replaced with a curious look. Unexpectedly Goku leaned in very close to the tyrant, causing a shocked squeak to come out of Frieza.

The noise he made, and The close proximity, caused a disgruntled sneer to appear on his face, along with a tint of red on his cheeks.  _Does this simian have no idea about what personal space is?!_ Frieza thought indignantly, still extremely flustered.

"Hey I've always wondered..How come, you've never been in a relationship?" At the question Frieza made something akin to a choking noise. The Saiyan seemed to finally notice the Icejin's discomfort, leaning back to give him more space.

Goku rubbed the back of his head, "I mean, I know you're 'Frieza' and all...but-" 

Quickly the tyrant cut him off with his own question.

"Why would you ever ask me that?!"

"I don't know! I'm just curious!"

"Well, I-"

Suddenly Frieza was interrupted, as he started to cough violently into his palm. He could see from the corner of his eyes the shocked, and worried face on the simian, clearly not knowing what to do.

After a few more fits of coughing, it finally ended. Exhausted, and out of breath, The tyrant looked down at his palm, only to be horrified by the sight that greeted him.

A small, purple, petal, rested gently in the middle of his hand. 

"Hey! Are you alright!?"

His focus shifted from terrifying petal, to the overly concerned face of the Saiyan. Being sure that the petal was out of sight from Goku, he quickly crushed it, making sure no trace of it was still on his palm.

He fixed his face with a sneer, "Yes, I'm fine, I don't need you to worry about me." Frieza said with enough hostility that he hoped the Saiyan would believe.

Luckily his plan worked, as the Saiyan visibly grew relaxed. A sigh came from the monkey, his eyebrows drawn down, a soft smile was displayed on his lips.

"Good! You had me worried there for a moment!" Goku said, but in a much more softer voice than usual. It felt like the tyrant's heart was about to explode. The voice, the expression, all of it was disgustingly sappy, but once again Frieza's emotions seemed to turn against him. At this point, a real sneer was apparent on his face.

"Like I said before, I don't need your worry." The Icejin responded coldly. He faced away from Goku, admittedly terrified of the feeling of his heart fluttering. He did hate to cut their time together short, but he feared the more time he spent with the ape, the worse his... ' _sickness'_  would get. 

Standing up, the tyrant wiped the nonexistent dust of his thighs. Goku's eyes widened at Frieza, the Saiyan's mouth opening.

"Hey-"

"I'm sorry to cut our visit short, but I just remembered some important business I must attend to." 

The simian held a suspicious expression. Frieza held his breath, hoping for Goku to just leave him be and not ask any questions. 

After a minute of the two just staring at the other, Goku just shrugged his shoulders, even if he did still seem slightly, suspicious. Frieza internally let out a sigh of relief at the merciful, Saiyan's actions. 

Getting ready to fly off, the Icejin felt some inner pull at him to stay for just a minute. He could sense the confusion radiating off of the monkey due to Frieza's seemingly, frozen body. Hesitantly, the tyrant turned to face Goku. As he expected, the ape's coal eyes shone with confused, curiosity.

Feeling his throat become sore again, Frieza looked down, "...Goodbye, Goku." He reluctantly said, already feeling his cheeks become alight.

Without warning, the Icejin quickly flew off, trying not to acknowledge the feeling in his chest, throat, as well as the little smile Goku gave him as he said 'goodbye'.

But it seemed like one of those three refused to be ignored. The scratchiness in his throat became too much to resist much longer, and soon, the Icejin once again coughed into the palm of his hand. The force of the cough caused Frieza to slow down, for just a second.

After having to cough into his hand for an, annoyingly amount of time, the Icejin was finally done. Even without looking into his palm, Frieza already knew he hacked up another, disgusting, little petal. He looked upon it in hate, wanting to rid it of existence, even though it was just a simple petal.

Yet, his overwhelming bitterness over this seemingly, harmless petal, compelled him to anyways. Frieza gave it one of the most hostile gazes he could muster. Not only was he absolutely furious that something so insignificant could possibly harm- no,  _kill him_ \- He was also angry about the implications that this petal brought.

Growling, the tyrant crushed the petal, like it's brethren before it. He watched as remnants of the petal floated off into the wind behind him. Being brought back out of his thoughts, the tyrant looked down, finding himself hovering above his ship. He was so caught up in his own thoughts he forgot he was flying. Well, luckily for him, his internal ranting didn't stop him from arriving to his destination.

Frieza descended gracefully, almost immediately being met by bows as he landed on his ship's ramp. He played the act of being composed, but in reality he was trying to hurry as fast as he could. Walking through the entrance, the tyrant was met with the two beings he was in such a rush to find.

"Welcome back, My Lord! How was the spar?" Kikono questioned, the hint of fear in his voice was present, as it always was when he spoke to his 'Lord'. Floating behind Kikono, was Frieza's loyal attendant, Beriblu. She had be around ever since Frieza was born, practically raising him when his father wasn't able too. He considered her, much like one would, a mother.

Flicking his tail impatiently, Frieza returned his gaze back to his top scientist, "I need to talk to you two,  _alone_." The Icejin said in a demanding tone. 

Kikono was visibly shaken at the tyrant's demand, while his counterpart was as calm as ever. The Icejin crossed his arms behind his back in typical fashion, leading the two to his quarters, the only place where he felt comfortable to talk about this.

The emperor's room was much larger than the sad, bunkers, his soldier's have. Not only that, but it was the only room In the entire ship to have a carpet. In the middle of the room was a large, oval-shaped, window, which allowed for Frieza to see the great vastness of space. A small pile of expensive silk blankets, and pillows, was harbored in the corner of the room. The pile was arranged to something akin to a nest. The other corner of the room was occupied by curved sofa facing the window, allowing anyone the perfect view. Next to it was a cooler full of all kinds of exotic wines, and beverages, the type only the rich-of-the-rich can afford.

Then there was the walls.

Each wall had a shelf, every last one of them accompanied by trinkets from different planets. Book shelves had millions of ancient, and decrepit, books. The books were obviously of no use now, besides being decorations for the Icejin to flaunt.

The door slid shut behind them as all three entered. Standing a couple of inches away from the two minions, Frieza turned to face them. He watched as Kikono looked around at awe, obviously wanting to get his grubby little fingers on one of Frieza's books, but he knew better than to actually try so. Beriblu on the other hand was the same, which made sense considering her personality, as well as the fact that she's already been in here before.

Frieza brought his fist up to his face, coughing into it to gain the attention of his scientist. The yellow alien immediately set his focus onto the tyrant. His fear was helping to give a sadistic sense of comfort to Frieza, as the Icejin got prepared to have one of the most embarrassing, and awkward, conversation with his subordinates.

"I assume you already know about this myth," Frieza said, referring Beriblu, before he moved on to address his other lackey, "But have you Kikono?"

The question seemed to confuse the alien, "What myth, Lord Frieza?" He asked nervously. This only caused the great emperor to sigh, hating that he had to clarify ' _it_ '.

"The Hanahaki Disease."

Everything was dead silent. Kikono's eyes looked like they were popping out of his head, clearly not expecting that his Lord would pull them away to just talk about a legend.

Quiet chuckling shattered the momentarily silence. Already knowing who it was, Frieza gave a deathly stare at his supposed 'Nanny'. The scientist quickly responded to his Lord, "O-Of course I have! It's a legend about having a flower grow inside you, due to unrequited love. There was a couple of cases of aliens seeming to have the 'disease', but all of them were myths!"

Kikono internally sighed as his Lord's attention was finally off of his attendant, though he wasn't exactly happy that it was back on him again.

Frieza's tail waved, and swirled, behind him in a thoughtful manner, "Good, and the only way to cure this disease is by confessing your love, allowing the disease to kill you, or by having it removed by a professional, yes?" The tyrant inquired, earning a nod in response.

"Do we have anyone onboard who could do the procedure?" The Icejin asked, his voice serious, and cold. The little alien's eyes went wide once again, confusion so clearly visible in them.

"N-no, of course not. The 'Hanahaki Disease' is nothing but a myth, Sire. I'm not sure why your so interested in it.." The poor Alien was sweating bullets at this point, wishing to any sort of deity that his question didn't piss Frieza off.

The answer was... Extremely unsatisfying too Frieza, he almost had the mind to kill his scientist for giving such a disappointing response. But unfortunately, with the uncomfortably small size of the army now, he needed Kikono.

Realising a unpleasant sigh from his mouth, the tyrant waved a flippant hand, "Fine then, you're both dismissed." He said as he turned around to face the view of space, aware of how he ignored Kikono's question.

Behind him he heard the metallic sound of the door opening, and closing, as someone walked out. His frown from earlier only deepened when he still felt eyes on his back. Not bothering to turn around, he addressed the person, "What do you want Beriblu." If anything, his question was more of a demand.

He only got a small chuckle in response. It was then silent after that, before Beriblu decided to speak, "Why are you so curious about the 'Hanahaki Disease', Lord Frieza?"

The Icejin stayed silent, refusing to answer her question. Knowing Beriblu, she probably already knew the answer to her question anyway, she just wanted to tease the Lord.

He could feel her smirk burning into his back. The emperor closed his eyes in frustration, tail swaying violently, back and forth. The tyrant knew, that if he didn't give her a response, she wouldn't leave him alone. Letting out a growl, the emperor swiveled his head to look over his shoulder at the only creature that teased him and lived(besides Goku).

"I suppose you already know the  _answer_." He responded in hostility. Fed up with all of today's events, and quite frankly, looking forward to napping his troubles away. 

Smirking just like Frieza expected her to, the women only shook her head, eyes closed, "I suppose you're correct My Lord," she opened up her eyes to once again stare at him, "But I'm curious to see how you handle this situation. As far as I know, there is no professional who has experience with the 'Hanahaki Disease', so it seems your only option is to confess your love or.. Die."

Her eyes gained a somber aura for just a second, before going back to the regular I-know-everything-about-you-and-you-know-it kind of look.

"But I'm quite sure your pride won't allow you to die from a mere flower, will it?" She said it like a question, but in reality she already knew the answer. Frieza could only scowl at her in response.

Turning around, the Icejin was once again faced with the sight of the stars. Another silent pause, then a farewell, and the sound of the metal door sliding shut.

Finally alone, the emperor released a heavy sigh, rubbing the space in between his eyes. Stopping his actions, the tyrant's scarlet eyes glanced over to the makeshift nest. The silk covers almost seemed to be begging him to come and rest in their embrace, and Frieza happily complied. 

Making steady strides to the nest, he immediately plopped down when he got there. Soon his world was filled with nothing but smooth, silky, sheets. If it was even possible for Frieza to go to heaven, he must be there currently.

It felt like every single problem was melting away from him. Beriblu's insistent teasing, the fact he couldn't surgically remove the flower, the 'Hanahaki Disease', his torturous feelings for the Saiyan..

Speaking of Goku, he was wondering what he could be doing right now. Considering it was probably the late evening on earth, Goku was possibly gorging to his heart's content, or falling asleep. 

Frieza could only assume what the Saiyan looked like when he was sleeping. If anything, he was probably splayed across the bed, hogging all the room, and snoring so loudly it could probably wake even the most heaviest of sleepers.

The emperor's lips quirked up,  _that sounds about right_. Suddenly another thought appeared in his head,  _would Goku feel warm?_ He would believe so. Every time the Saiyan even remotely touched him, a surge of heat would always go through the emperor. Oh, how he could only imagine how nice and warm it would be if they cuddled-

Eyes shooting wide open, the Icejin's dreamland quickly vanished from him. Only realising what he was thinking about ashamed him. Clutching the side of his head with both hands, he began to snarl. 

_Stupid stupid thoughts, go away go away go away go away-_

He began shaking his head, trying to get rid of such sickening thoughts. And just what a great surprise, the scratchy feeling in his throat was back. How absolutely lucky he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof so this is a thing a did. This was gonna be a oneshots but then I realised how long it would be if it was one, so I just decided to do chapters instead. Updates will vary, with ya know school, personal life, motivation, blah blah blah, but most chapters will take me a while to write so I probably won't be updating regularly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has been weeks since Frieza last saw Goku, when he is suddenly invited to a party, celebrating universe 7's victory in the ToP.

Six weeks. That's how long Frieza hasn't seen Goku. The Saiyan would usually wait until two weeks to spar with the emperor-sometimes even three, depending on what was going on- but it was never this long of a wait time.

Frieza felt like he was splitting into two. One side was glad the bumbling oath was gone, while the other seemed to be yearning for the Saiyan. Not only was he having that little internal problem; he had no idea if his illness was getting worse from the separation.

The Icejin was now starting to cough up three or two, instead of just one, singular, petal. It was uncomfortably, worrying. And The pain in his throat was getting worse by the day. It got to the point that Kikono insisted on the emperor getting some medical help to soothe the pain, but Frieza refused too. He wouldn't allow this insignificant flower to harm him in such a way that he would need to seek  _help_ , so he just chose to ignore it.

The emperor let out a long, and drawn out, sigh. He was currently in his nest, aware of how the minutes passed by as he just laid there, thinking. Knowing he'd have to get up at some point, the Icejin removed himself from the cozy sheets.

Today marked the beginning of seven weeks. Seven whole weeks without the Saiyan's company. It disturbed Frieza how acutely, aware, he was of the monkey's absent. But right now, he was too tired, and lazy, too really dwell on it.

Wobbling slightly on his three-toed feet, the Icejin began to do some stretches, to awaken his drowsy body. A serious of satisfying pops resounded throughout the air in his room, as Frieza stretched his sore limbs, his tail curling and twisting into all kinds of shapes behind him.

The tyrant let a satisfied noise escape his lips, feeling his muscles loosen ever so slightly. Without any more hesitation, Frieza made a start to his door, only to stop when a peculiar object cuaght his eye.

A small, flat, and square object was laying comfortably on his silk sheets, appearing slightly crumpled up. The mystery item was also a blindingly bright yellow, clashing with the essence of Frieza's quarters.

He really didn't feel like investigating, but his curiosity got the better of him. Making his way to his nest, he crouched down to grab the tiny object. It's brightness hurting the Icejin's eyes. Only after his ruby eyes adjusted to the color could he tell something was written on it. This was no mysterious item, it was just a plan note. Squinting his eyes, Frieza fought through the strain it brought upon his eyes.

 

 

 

> 'Hey! Sorry it's been awhile! I wanted to come and visit you, but Chi Chi insisted that I take a break from fighting, and focus more on work, and family stuff(which wasn't very fun at all). I also thought you might've been sick or something, so I thought it'd be better if I just let you do your thing. Anyways that's not what I'm here to tell you! Bulma(or Vegeta's Wife), is throwing a party celebrating universe 7 winning the Tournament of Power! Everyone who participated is invited. There'll be dances and stuff, also  _wine_ (I know how you like wine), so I hope you come!
> 
> \- Love, Goku :)'

The tyrant was truly at a lost for words. Goku, in the middle of the  _night_ , used his nifty little teleportation trick, and placed the note on top of the blankets while Frieza was  _asleep._

He couldn't help but feel like his privacy was breached. There wasn't any embarrassing habits Frieza wanted to hide. The Icejin was actually quite still while he slept, barely moving an inch. And he didn't snore, or mumble in his sleep, such things were ill mannered.

And Frieza was quite aware, the ape wasn't the type to spoil his fierce reputation by telling people how soft his face looked when he was sleeping. Atleast not intentionally.

No, what bothered the emperor was how vulnerable he was when he rested. Perhaps, a part of him was still scared of the Saiyan, or more accurately, what said Saiyan was  _capable_ of doing..

Shaking his head he cleared his thoughts, massaging his temples for the the millionth time,  _Oh Goku, how you make me feel a mess of emotions no other soul has ever done before,_ the tyrant thought.

Focusing on the actual message of the note, Frieza was debating on going to the party, or just staying on his ship and doing work all day.

...

The party definitely won the Lord's favor. Sure, half the people there hated him, but the feeling was mutual anyways. The emperor wouldn't mind a break in his schedule, and he would certainly enjoy letting all his restraints go and getting drunk for the first time in a long time. Frieza ignored the fact, that Goku being there, was the main factor of why he was going.

The tyrant felt like he finally had everything together, even if it was only momentarily, but oh, how the gods seemed to hate him.

That Saiyan idiot forgot to include the goddamn time. One of the most important parts of the invitation, and he forgot it.

He fucking, forgot it.

Knowing the imbecile, he was probably using his last brain cells to draw that damn smiley face! Feeling his eye twitch erratically, the Icejin cursed the Saiyan in every tounge he ever learned.

Oh, 'how the Saiyan made him feel a mess of emotions' indeed.

* * *

 He had lost track of time. But doing work hours on end can do that to a person. It was all the same, a quick report on how the soldiers were doing, how many were still alive, and how many died during the last conquest. Then, approximately three hours of negotiations with thick skilled idiots, who didn't know how to bargain properly. Next was another status report, then another report about planets, and then report report report blah blah blah. 

Frieza was beginning to get a headache. Between having to hack up petals every few hours, and working for what seemed like an eternity, the emperor was mentally done.

In the back of his mind lingered the possibility of going to the party. Though, he highly doubted that he would be able to go now, thanks to that idiotic Saiyan.

Frieza had to restrain himself from sighing, it was starting to become a bad habit of his. But who could blame him? Everything that was going on was draining the tyrant. He desperately wanted an escape, and he hoped the party would have been able to provide that but nooo, someone had to forget the damn time.

...He was still upset about that if it wasn't obvious.

Bringing himself back to his dull reality, the Icejin tried to find his place on the document he was trying to read previously. Minutes passed as Frieza stared blankly at the words, nothing committing to his memory, forcing the tyrant to start over again.

... _This damn screen.._ Growling angrily, he began to grind his teeth. The light coming from the projected screen was seering his eyes, reminding Frieza of the note.

He stared into it, paying little attention to the words anymore. It was starting to infuriate him. His stress seeming to build up to a breaking point, barely holding himself back from turning the whole ship, and it's inhabitants, into dust.

"Hey!"

Almost jumping out of his hover pod, the startled Icejin brought his gaze upon the new addition in the room. In all his idiotic glory was the Saiyan himself, Son Goku. He was standing somewhere off to the side, doning a different outfit than his usual Gi. He seemed to be wearing a jacket, the fabric accentuating the Saiyan's body. Frieza eyes drank in the sight greedily, before he snapped out of his daze.

"What do you want, Saiyan?!" Angrily hissed at Goku. "Don't you know dropping in uninvited is extremely rude?" The simian just shrugged, being completely unfazed by his hostile nature. Giving the emperor a confused look, Goku responded, "I mean, I guess, but didn't I tell you I'd pick you up?"

Frieza now gained his own confused expression on his face, "What do you mean..?" He asked questioningly.

"You know, the note. I told you I'd pick you up when the party began right?" The ape then scratched his head, "I mean if you want to go, and I hope you do, but you don't have to.." Goku mumbled more to himself than anyone else.

Suddenly, all of the Icejin's murderous rage was back, "Oh  _yes_ , the note without the goddamn time on it!" The tyrant screeched. Apparently, this was news to Goku, a shocked look coming over his face.

"What?! But I swear I put it on there somewhere! Did you check the back?" Questioned the Saiyan innocently. A growl esacped through the emperor's sneering mouth, "No, I didn't 'check the back', I turned it into fucking  _dust_!"

"Hey, language!"

"I've been yelling at you this entire conversation and that's what got you  _slightly_ offended?"

"Well, I mean.."

A urgent shout interrupted the two's mindless squabble. "Will someone please explain!" It was then that Frieza remembered that they weren't alone in the room. Shifting his gaze to Kikono, the one who had spoken, the scientist looked utterly confused.

"P-party? Note? Time..? W-what are you talking about Sire? I can't help but feel lost.." The small, yellow alien said. 

"Yes, I also would like an explanation if you are generous enough, My Lord." Beriblu pipped in from behind Kikono. Switching his glance from between the two, the Icejin inhaled through his nose, placing two fingers on his head to massage the space in between his eyes.

"I was recently invited to a party celebrating our victory in the Tournament of Power. I was planning to go," Opening his mouth, Goku was about to say something, before Frieza's ruby gaze cut him off, "But this  _genius_ here, completely forgot to tell me when I was suppose to go."

The answer seems to be satisfactory to one of his minions. Kikono just shakes his head, a worried expression on his face, "I suppose that explains it.. But we're you ever going to tell us Sire?!" Lips twitching, the tyrant growled, "Of course I was! Do you think I would be so stupid to just leave without any further information?" Frieza asked angrily. 

Kikono began to shake violently, shaking his head back and forth vigorously, "N-No! I didn't m-mean to offend you, My Lord.." Frieza was about to respond, but was cut off.

"Hey, so.. It's great to know you want to go, but can we hurry up? The parties already started, and I really don't want to miss anything..." The Saiyan said. Shifting his vicious gaze towards the monkey, Goku just scratched his head and chuckled apologetically. The Icejin ignored how endearing the little action was.

Sighing the emperor dragged a hand down his face. He jumped out of his hover pod, landing gracefully on the cold steel of the ship. Strutting his way towards the Saiyan, he paused. Turning around, the tyrant faced his minions, "I won't be long, but do come and pick me up at.."

"12:00. Midnight."

Sparing a look towards the Saiyan, Frieza nodded, "Yes, what the monkey said." The great emperor then turned his back to his two subordinates, now only facing Goku.

The ape was giving him a kind smile, something that made his cold heart beat a little faster, and his throat more sore. Giving a pathetic wave to Beriblu and Kikono, Frieza bid them farewell.

Kikono was about to stop his Lord, but a warning glance from Beriblu made the alien hesitate.

Putting two fingers on his forehead, Goku seemed to get the hint. Frieza was mildly surprised when he reached out his hand towards him, just like when the emperor was brought out of hell.

"Here, grab my hand and I'll instant transmission us out of here." The Saiyan said. Glancing down at it, the monkey's hand was still beckoning for Frieza. And unlike last time, the tyrant grabbed Goku's hand. His fingers were twitching, not use to the physical contact or the welcoming heat.

The tyrant's clouded, and perhaps lovesick daze, probably made him delusional. But he swore he felt the simian tighten his grip. He now started to regret wanting to go to the party. Frieza thought it would be nice to take a break from the daily stress of work, and the 'Hanahaki Disease'. But he sees now, that the party will be likely to only bring more distress upon him.

Without any warning, Goku teleported them. The change in scenery was bizarre. From the bleak, cool, grey metal walls of the ship, turned into multicolored lights, and stars. It appeared that the party was going on in the back of a yard, a big one at that. The lights were coming from somewhere he couldn't see, though he presumed they were high up. Taking a look around him, Frieza saw dozens of tables stretched about the lawn, as well as a table holding a banquet of all sorts of drinks, and foods the emperor's never heard of. This would be surprising, but he did recall Goku telling him that Vegeta's wife was rich, so it made sense.

Completely forgetting that he was holding the monkey's hand, an embarrassed flush painted Frieza's white complexion. Ripping his hand out of Goku's grip, the tyrant was about to leave. A desperate shout made him pause. Turning around he saw the Saiyan again, looking like he was in midstep. Sighing, Goku went to a more reclined pose. The monkey then started to fumble with the pocket on his jacket, making Frieza's head tilt in a curious manner. Finally, Goku pulled something out.

"Here, I saw this at a shop somewhere, and it kinda reminded me of you so, I'd thought you'd like it." Goku spoke with hope in his voice. Dangling from the Saiyan's fingers was a little spaceship. It was a keychain, and looked vaguely familiar to one of Frieza's ships. Say, if you remove half of the detail.

This monkey was just full of surprises today. The emperor's ruby eyes widened at the sight. He has been given gifts, yes, but nothing out of the kindness of someone's heart, or 'because it reminded them of him'. This was a new feeling, a sense of overwhelming gratitude for Goku. The ape handed him the small item, that the Icejin could crush easily without a second thought. Holding it like Goku was mere seconds ago, he dangled it in front of his face. The tyrant then curled his lips spitefully, a sudden, and bitter anger bloomed within him. 

It was the small things like  _this,_ that made the proud ruler keen at the sight of Goku. And because of these things, He felt such weak emotions for his _enemy_ , the one person he should hate the most, and yet he fell for him instead. And now he has a life threatening disease due to those feelings. He _hated it_.

Giving the innocent object a look of disdain, the tyrant turned his head to the side, "I don't want your stupid earthling trinket." The emperor responded coldly. And with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the item into nowhere behind him. A grunt, accompanied by a fast breeze of air past Frieza, showed the Saiyan trying to balance on one of his legs. He had caught the small spacecraft before it was lost forever to the night.

With crossed arms, Frieza shifted his cold glance to Goku. He was determined in thinking that was the best course of action to do, but one look at the Saiyan's face made him doubt that thought a million times over.

He was standing on both legs now, but the usual happy, and heartwarming expression that Goku always wore, was no longer lingering on his face. In it's replacement, was a sad replica of a smile, eyes dimmed with no sign of a spark. Frieza felt like a knife was digging into his side, but a quick glance told him everything was fine. He couldn't see it, but the Icejin's own expression was a change from his usual face. 

His eyes were widened, mouth slightly opened. A surprising amount of regret shone in his scarlet irises, as Frieza continued to look on at the sight before him.

Goku just gave a sad chuckle, "I guess I should have expected that," He then began to scratch his head in the manner he always does, "Guess I should've gotten you a better gift huh?" 

The sight from before was heartbreaking, but seeing Goku try to  _fake_ his own happiness was overkill. The tyrant wanted to say something, anything, just to reassure him. But he just couldn't seem to get anything out.

Goku stuffed the trinket back into his pocket. Frieza wanted to tell him to stop, to say, 'I'll take the damn thing if it'll stop you from looking like a sad puppy dog.' But nothing came out. The Saiyan passed by him, giving the emperor a sad wave that acted cheerful, and a smile so obviously fake, it hurt.

Then Frieza just stared at the back of Goku, as his imagine got smaller and smaller. Grabbing the side of his ribs in pain, the Icejin coughed excessively into his palm. His being was shaking with every hack, and wheeze. When the torture was all done, Frieza prepared himself for the sight of three petals, but what he was faced with was five. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so that was way longer than I expected to be. There originally was gonna be more in this chapter, but since it's already so long, I decided to just split it into two. Kinda ended on an OOC note for Frieza, but he should be his 'usual' self in chapter 3.


	3. Chapter 3

There was only one thing Frieza could rely on more than anything. Wine.

In general, the emperor just liked wine, but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't used the alcohol beverage to take the edge off before. There was only one time the Icejin could remember drinking so he could forget. A fact he wasn't exactly proud of.

Nursing his third cup, the emperor was only starting to feel hazy. It was actually quite hard for him to drink to the point of being in a drunken stupor-since he had developed such a high tolerance to alcohol-but it wasn't impossible either.

The wine was... Nice. Not exactly as good as his, but he didn't really care about taste right now. The image of Goku's expression was burned into his mind. The tyrant clutched his glass tighter, a sneer painted his face. He was trying his best to numb the guilt, and regret. Feelings he should never hold for the monkey. Feelings such as attraction. Yet here his is.

Admittedly, there was still a part of Frieza that enjoyed the misery he brought upon the Saiyan. That simple fact brought great relief to the Icejin. Atleast he knew some part of him still had a death wish for Goku, but it was so clouded by the other emotions he was feeling, it seemed almost completely nonexistent.

The emperor was sitting as far away from the rest of the crowd as best as he could. Occasionally he would see some of the Z fighters glance his way, thinking he didn't notice them, but he did. It brought great satisfaction to know these people still feared him. But even the power high wasn't enough to take his mind off of Goku.

Frieza curled his lips, a disdainful frown forming from it. He brought the wine glass back up to his lips, only to be greeted by an empty glass. He sighed, extremely disappointed that while his little tangent was going on inside his head, the tyrant had completely drank the last of his wine.

The Icejin wasn't feeling up to the task of refilling his glass, but he knew if he didn't, he'd be left with the feeling of overwhelming guilt, and self anger. Groaning in detest, Frieza slinked down in his seat like a child would, before he convinced himself to stand up. Due to picking a spot so far away from everyone else, the banquet table was unfortunately farther from him then he would have liked. But he made the journey there anyway.

Frieza grabbed one of the wine bottles from the rack on the table, pouring himself another drink. People who were previously there, backed away once they saw the emperor.

Frieza had noticed something. While he had recognized everyone from the Tournament of Power, there were also others he recalled never even being apart of it. These people were mostly children, friends, and lovers.

In the tyrant's personal opinion, once you start allowing every one you know come to a party held specifically for the participants of the Tournament of Power, it really just defeats the original purpose. He took a sip of his wine, the bitter content drying his throat and mouth. The Icejin probably shouldn't be drinking such a tart drink when his throat is so sore, but the only thing he currently cared about, was fogging up his brain enough to make him be numb to any feeling for Son Goku. Be that guilt, or attraction.

He wasn't paying very much attention to it, but a noticeable difference to the music caught his attention. The tyrant remembered the music sounding upbeat, something that would get your adrenaline pumping. But this new song was slow, sounding vaguely romantic. It wasn't long for Frieza to figure out why this song was playing. This was a song dedicated to the couples at the party. Those without a significant other just had to sit on the sideline. Feeling a sense of happiness for their friend, or the crippling loneliness from watching happy couples and realising they could never have such love. Frieza thought it was dreadfully sappy.

Couples joined together, and started to dance slowly with eachother. He felt like he might hurl at any second, thanks to this display. Then a familiar face caught his eye among the sea of lovers. It was Goku, and he was dancing with a women. A pang of jealousy shot through Frieza like a lightning bolt. He didn't recognize her at first, but once he put the pieces together, it wasn't quite that hard to figure out who she was.

This must be Chi Chi. The wife Goku brought up every so often in conversation. The two lovers were holding eachother tightly, bodies pressed together as they slowly danced. The small tyrant clutched the wine glass harder, cracks like spider webs dancing along the glass. From what Frieza could recall, this 'Chi Chi' women was apperantly royalty. He scoffed. Goku told him, that his family lived in a small house in the woods. They didn't have much money, so Goku had to work to gain whatever cash he could. 

Frieza was far more 'royalty' than that women could ever be.  _He_ actually ruled over something,  _he_ was rich,  _he_ actually had a title! The list could go on, and on, but the emperor felt like he didn't need to prove his point any further. He took another sip of his wine, watching with a deadly gaze as Goku and Chi Chi continued to hold eachother. Jealousy flashed wildly in his eyes. What, exactly, could this women provide that he couldn't ten times better?

The women barely had enough money to supply the Saiyan with the amount of food he needed, she didn't like him fighting, and the tyrant highly doubted their relationship was sexually active.

 _Frieza_ , on the other hand could do all of that but better. He would supply Goku with feasts everyday, with anything the Saiyan desired. He would let monkey fight to his heart's content, for hours on end until he was finally tired.  _Oh,_ and Frieza bet he could  _rock his fucking world._

With a sneer, Frieza chugged the last of his drink. He quickly poured himself another one. Before he could go into get detail of how he would 'rock Goku's world', the sight of blue hair caught his attention. Vegeta's wife, Bulma. He was slightly curious as to why she and Vegeta weren't dancing, but a brilliant idea came upon him. Vegeta's wife was a amazing scientist, and could perhaps help fix Frieza's little problem.

The tyrant set the broken glass down. He spared one last envious look towards the Son couple, before following the blue haired women inside.

* * *

Inside of the building, you could barely hear the music outside. Blindingly bright lights were a drastic contrast to the night sky, making the tyrant squeeze his eyes shut momentarily. Reopening them, he found the sight of blue hair again. The women didn't seem to have taken noticed his presence yet, instead talking to someone on an device of hers. Frieza would make sure his being would be revealed to the women.

Chuckling, Frieza drew the attention of the women. The blue-haired earthling turned around, surprised. Soon that surprise turned into a set face. Paying no attention to the device, Vegeta's wife seemed to have quite talking to whoever she was previously.

"What do you want?" She said with a cold voice. The small emperor just shook his head, a deceiving smirk spread across his face.

"I would like your assistance on something," He responded back, "You see, I seem to have a little  _issue_ I need your help with. I would normally ask my scientists, but none my men seem to be able to help me. That is, unlike you. A brilliant scientist." Frieza looked expectantly at the human women, hoping his flattery worked on swaying her opinion.

Her lips turned into a distrusting frown, "What issue?" She asked. Frieza's smirk grew wider at her question. He seemed to have the women's intrigue. The tyrant spared a sideways glance at the door. His gaze then sifted to the rest of the room, confirming that no one else was there with them. He couldn't imagine what would happen if Vegeta, or god forbid, Goku, found out about the disease he was currently plagued with.

Frieza's red irises returned back to the sight of the women, who seemed to be getting impatient. By this point, the Icejin had dropped the smirk, now donning a serious expression. 

"I have been...infected by a very rare disease, one so rare it was thought to be a myth," Vegeta's wife leaned, her curiosity piqued, "It is referred to as the 'Hanahaki Disease', It causes it's victim to cough up petals. One only gets the disease by..." He cringed. The tyrant didn't want to say it at all, but he had to if was ever going to get this women's help.

Swallowing his pride, Frieza continued, "Having unrequited feelings for another being.." Every word he spoke was strained, as if his very being was trying to stop him from saying another word. A bark of laughter escaped the women. She was clutching her knees, bent over as her body shook with laughter.

The display caused a violent anger within the ruler. Once she was finished, the blue-haired women wiped a fake tear from her eye, "The 'Almighty' Frieza, having a crush on someone!" She crossed her arms across her chest, "I never figured you for a jokester." She teased.

Frieza only growled, loosing his patience with this earthling, "I am serious! If this is not dealt with, then I will die!" He shouted at the women. She only put a hand on her hip, teasing expression no longer there.

"And why should I help you? If anything the universe would be better off with you dead." She coolly responded. He hated to admit it, but she had a point, there really was no reason for her to help him. The snarl on the emperor's face was loosing it's vicious look, as desperation grasped at him. The tyrant highly doubted bribery would work, but it was all or nothing now.

He sighed, "Look if you help me, I'll.. Give you whatever you desire." To his surprise she looked like she was actually contemplating his offer. The Icejin waited with baited breath for her decision.

"Fine, I'll help you," Frieza wanted to jump with joy, but the women wasn't finished yet, "Only if I can study your alien technology." He raised a brow at that but shrugged, "That is completely fine, as long as you don't ruin anything." He answered.

Vegeta's wife smirked, "I wasn't finish talking," He let out a questioning noise at the remark, tilting his head slightly. She leaned in, "I'll help, as long as I can study your technology.. As well as you." Ending her sentence, she pointed a finger at him. Frieza's eyes widened, before a disgruntled expression appeared on his face, "You want to do  _what_?" He was fine with her tinkering with his ship, or scouters, but he refused to be a lab rat for her to examine.

She crossed her arms again, "What? Got a problem with it?" She asked sassily. He growled, "Of course I do! I am not some kind of toy for you to poke and prod at! I am a merciless ruler, who commands respect!" Frieza responded.

The blue-haired women then turned her back to him, "Fine then, I guess our deal is off." That shut him up. A heavy debate was warring inside his mind. One side of the Icejin thought he might as well die with his dignity still intact, while the other refused to be brought down by a stupid flower.

Clenching his fists, he snarled, "Fine! Do whatever, I could care less as long as you help me!" He shouted angrily at her. She turned her hed to him, smirking, "Well, it seems like we have a deal." A neutral expression painted her face, "I want you to meet with me every week so we can discuss how to cure you. Also, everytime you visit me, be sure to bring something I can tinker with." 

Frieza looked to the side in defeat as the women went further into the building. His lips curled, blood drawing from his clenched fists.

* * *

 The party finally came to an end. People were bidding their companions goodbye, and wishing eachother a good night. Frieza sat, at what he dubbed, 'his table'. He had forgotten about his drink, the wine sitting off to the side of the tyrant. He had completely given up on trying to use the alcohol to numb his feelings, now understanding it was a useless endeavor.

Goku and his family had left the party early on. Something about work? The emperor couldn't exactly recall the details. All he knows is that once the monkey left, the party was boringly dull. He stood up, scooting the seat so he could move. It was about time to go, his men should be landing on this planet any minute now.

Frieza was ready to leave the mudball, but something tugged at his mind, beckoning him. It was the Saiyan's depressing expression again that appeared at the forefront of his mind. The tyrant clutched his head, damning the image that seemed scorched into his mind. 

His men should be here any minute, but if he didn't do something to clear his conscious soon, he might just loose it. Frieza let out a deep sigh, knowing he was about to scold himself in the morning for doing this. 

He blasted off into the star filled sky, searching the terrain for a certain house. Goku said his home was in the woods somewhere, so that would be the best place to look. The tiny tyrant scanned multiple forests, yet nothing showed up.

All he could see was tree, after tree, after tree. He was beginning to loose his patience, already regretting this decision. No doubt was his ship already here, waiting for him to board it. The Icejin was ready to call it quits and just leave the planet, but then he noticed the building he had been looking for.

It was small, and round, just like Goku said it was. Frieza landed down on the cold grass, surrounded by the sounds of a million earthen insects. The lights were off, meaning the Son family was probably asleep. Good, thar would make Frieza's task much easier.

The emperor started to search from window to window, looking for the Saiyan's sleeping quarters. A child's room, the living quarters, kicthen.. And bingo, just what he was looking for.

He expected two sleeping forms on the bed, but he only saw Goku's sleeping body. Frieza vaguely wondered about where the women was, but payed little attention to the thought. With her gone, he could do this much faster, and with less risks.

He played with the window for a bit, trying to find a way into the room. It wasn't long before he figured it out, and slipped silently into the room. The tyrant's crimson eyes shined in the dark, tail curling behind him. He was startled by a loud noise, afraid that he woke up the Saiyan but then he realized something. 

 _Goku was snoring_.

A small smirk played on his lips, finding it funny that his assumption of how the Saiyan slept was correct.  _Hell_ , he was even sprawled about the bed like he thought. The emperor shook his head,  _Oh that monkey_.. He thought endearingly. Frieza then continued on with his quest.

He walked about the small room for a bit, doing his best to make as little sound as he could. Frieza doubted that Goku could hear him over all his snoring, but the emperor wasn't going to take any chances. On the table, across from the bed, laid what he was looking for. The little spaceship Goku had gotten for him.

The Icejin crept over silently, snatching the small item from its comfortable spot on the wood. Frieza resisted a sigh, he hated that he made himself do this, but if he hadn't, he'd be plagued with guilt. A dreadful emotion he's rarely experienced, not something he'd particularly want to be acquaintance with everyday.

Clutching his prize in his hand, Frieza was getting ready to leave the Son residence, before a deadly thought stopped the Icejin in his tracks. The tyrant shifted his illuminated gaze to the sleeping form. _Goku is absolutely vulnerable in this state..._

Almost like he was in a trance, Frieza made his way to Goku. Standing next to the bed now, he could see the Saiyan's details much closer than he could before. Frieza lifted his hand, his finger pointed towards the Saiyan, and at its tip was a dangerous bundle of ki.

He could  _end this_ , right here, and now. It would be sudden, a surprise. Goku wouldn't be able to feel it before he inevitably die. He wouldn't have time to retaliate. Wouldn't have time to  _scream_. It would be so easy, Frieza could cure himself, he could finally fulfill a desire he's had brewing inside him since he might the ape.  _He could finally kill Goku_... And all he had to do was shot him point blank with a death beam. It was so simple.

Frieza's heart was beating rapidly. From excitement? Adrenaline? Anticipation? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that Goku was here, and vulnerable. The emperor almost found it ironic. The Saiyan teleported into his room in the middle of night, and now here's Frieza, sneaking into Goku's room at night. Maybe that's why Frieza felt so disturbed when he found out that fact, because the Saiyan would've been able to do what he was about to.

* * *

 

With a stir, Goku opened his eyes, rubbing them as they adjusted to the dark. Drowsily, Goku let out a small, "Hello?" Into the empty room. He swore he felt someone else's presence here, but perhaps it was nothing? He didn't see anyone, so he assumed it was just his imagination. But what wasn't his imagination was the chilling breeze that swept throughout the air. Goku now noticed his opened window.

* * *

 Frieza's heart was beating a mile a minute, his blood racing. He was currently clutching a tree that was miles away from the house he'd currently been in. It felt like sweat was running across his porcelain skin. The emperor was heaving in breaths of air to calm himself, eyes widen to an almost unbelievable extent. Due to the unusual pace of breathe, the emperor began coughing, and as always, the coughing resulted in a series of petals in Frieza's palm.

He paid little attention to them, throwing them haphazardly to the ground. Focusing instead on leveling his breathing, and calming down. Once the mighty emperor had regain, a somewhat, normal paced breathing rate, he began to think.

Frieza had the Saiyan right there! He had the perfect opportunity to end that fool's life! And yet... He leaned his head on the tree, gripping the tree with such intensity, the bark started to break under his hands. Frieza could of killed him once and for all, and he didn't...

 _What the hell was happening to him_?

The royalty tortured the innocent tree some more, taking his wrath out on it. By the time his angered cooled, the tree had deep marks that almost looked like claw marks made by a powerful beast. Then again, Frieza supposed he could be considered a 'Powerful Beast'.

A horrifying realization dawned on the tyrant. He looked frantically at his empty palms.  _His empty palms_.

_No, no, no, shit! Godammit! No no no no!!_

Frieza didn't have the small spacecraft within his hands anymore. He spun around, swiveling his head in every direction. Soon, the proud emperor found himself on his knees, pawing at the cold ground in a desperate search for the small item.

If he couldn't find it, then every thing he just did a couple of minutes ago was all for not! Wildly scanning the earth beneath him, a sharp pain in his knee caused him to curse silently. Lifting his knee to find the cause of the pain, lead him to coming upon the thing his was searching so frantically for.

Barely caring for his knee-not that it really hurt anyway- Frieza scooped up the precious souvenir. Shoulders dropping in relief, he hung his head, glad that his self-proclaimed mission wasn't just a waste of time. 

Scrunching up his face, the small emperor gave a hateful stare at the keychain cupped in his hands, a pout formed on his dark lips. "This is all your fault. If you hadn't caught the attention of that dumb Saiyan, none of this would be happening." Frieza whispered accusingly to the tiny spaceship. It obviously didn't respond, but Frieza didn't expect it too anyways.

Getting up off the dirty soil, Frieza looked down in disdain at the marks it left on his pure white skin. It was apperant that the emperor would have to bathe himself once he got back too his ship.

Speaking of which, the alien craft should be here by now. 

Shooting off into the sky, making sure he had a firm, but not damaging, grip on the keychain. With little problem, Frieza easily located his ship. As always, he was greeted by his subordinates, soldiers bowing to him as he entered the craft.

 Almost as soon as he greeted Kikonk, and Beriblu back, the Icejin made a beeline for his room, not wanting to stick around and be compelled into doing more work.

The metallic doors slid behind him in silence. Walking to a shelf, he plunked the item that was hidden in his hand down onto the expensive wood. Without another pause, Frieza made his way fluidly over to the wash room, hoping to get the dirt, and grime off of him as soon as possible.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have watched the Broly movie atleast 3 times already.
> 
> Help.
> 
> Also no summary cause I'm lazy and tired right now.
> 
> Also sorry for the kinda 'out-of-place-ending' on this chapter, I didn't really know how to close it off so yeahhhh


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieza is back on his ship, when he gets unexpected visit from his favorite ape.

Heavy lids began to open, revealing the scarlet irises beneath them. A sudden yawn escaped from the emperor. Rubbing the grogginess from his eyes, Frieza stared down at his clutched palm. Fingers unfurling themselves, showing the Icejin a small spacecraft, with blinking lights.

The emperor couldn't recall falling asleep with his earthen trinket. _Perhaps he was too tired to remember?_  He thought. Slipping the soft blankets off of himself, the Icejin returned the gift back to it's faithful spot on one of the shelves.

It wasn't hard to tell that the tyrant had overslept, and missed quite a bit of work. Probably calls from traders or what not. That wasn't what his was mind currently preoccupied with. An embarrassing grumble came from Frieza's stomach. The emperor must of missed his first meal, as he was clearly hungry, his insides almost feeling like it was going to eat itself from the inside out.

Inputing a code, the emperor's door slid open. The two guards who resided near said door, immediately bowed once they saw their Lord. Frieza didn't give them as much as a glance. He didn't even know why he had guards, it wasn't like he needed them anyways. Though he suppose they did have one service. Unlike others, they were the closet to Frieza and could relay messages to the tyrant faster. Speaking of which..

"How come neither of you addressed to me that I overslept? Not only that, but how come you didn't wake me?" Frieza let out a condescending hum, knowing the absolute terror that must of come over the two guards. Having his back to them, arms folded behind his back, must've added to their fear.

"I-I'm sorry Lord Frieza! The scientist, Kikono, advised to leave you alone while you were sleeping!" One of the guards responded frantically.

 _Of course it was Kikono_ , Frieza clenched a hidden fist,  _he always acts like he owns the_ _damn_ _place._ The Icejin let out a hum of acknowledgment, before taking his quiet anger out on the guard that had spoken to him. A death beam pierced through the armor on the soldier's body, the man's lifeless body swiftly falling to the ground. 

Frieza let out a small yawn, putting a hand over his mouth. "Now, is there anything else I should know before I eat?" The second guard took his mortified gaze off of his dead comrade's body, getting into a stance of attention.

"One-e of your advisors came by to tell that you have a earthen visitor, Sir!" The news startled Frieza a bit, but the emperor already knew who his 'earthen visitor' was. The tyrant waved a dismissive hand at the guard, before making his way to the main room of the ship. 

* * *

The Icejin wasn't surprised when he caught the sight of onyx hair, and coal eyes. The Saiyan perking up a bit at his arrival.  _How long has he been here?_ the tyrant internally thought. 

"There you are My Lord! I hope you had a pleasant rest?" Kikono said, rushing forward to greet the emperor. Frieza narrowed his eyes at the scientist. In response Kikono flinched, nervously gulping. The tyrant eased his gaze, sight now focusing ahead, staring at nothing in particular.

"I suppose you could say it was 'pleasant'," responded Frieza, "Though I advise for you to get someone to clean up the blood, as well as the body." He didn't need to specify further. The yellow alien nodded, letting out a 'of course' before leaving his Lord alone.

Out of the corner of his eye, Frieza could see the look of...  _disappointment_? Painted on the Saiyan's face, as he leaned against a wall. Something about the look didn't sit right with the great emperor. A rage brewed within him, but at the same time there seemed to be a ache in his heart. Frieza discarded the uncomfortable feeling quickly.

Turning his attention to Goku, the tyrant spoke. "I'm assuming you're here to spar?" His tail curled, "It's unusual for you to visit me so early, you usually wait until two of your earthern weeks pass." The monkey's eyes widen at being acknowledge, scratching his head in the typical, endearing, fashion he always does.

"Actually... I'm not here to spar.."

This surprised Frieza. "Really?"

"I just wanted to talk with you.."

A odd noise escaped his lips. An undignified expression soon came upon the pale-skinned alien. " _What_?" Frieza questioned. He supposed the two didn't always spar with their visits, but they would slide smoothly into conversation, then finding out they spent all their time together talking. Though it was nothing  _like this_. They never blatantly told eachother that they, 'just wanted to talk'. 

Goku look confused at his response. "Um.. I just want to-" He was promptly cut off by the small emperor. "No, no, I heard what you said.. Just," Frieza massaged his temples before sighing. "Nevermind. Just follow me to my quarters, there we can talk undisturbed." The tyrant said. He turned around and began walking, being reassured that the monkey was following him as he heard footsteps behind him. 

The steps quickly caught up to Frieza, the ape now walking casually by his side. This was unusual to the Icejin. Everyone he's ever known has usually walked behind him as a show of respect. Only those considered to be on the same status with Frieza have stood, and walked, besides him. Those people being his father, brother, and..

Well, mainly just his family.

The other exception is the God of Destruction, Beerus, obviously.

But, now thinking about it, Frieza supposed he could call Goku an 'equal'. One part of him shivered in disgust, revolted that he even considered the idea, while another part questioned exactly what he meant when he said 'equal'.

Not that he'd ever think of the Saiyan as a potential mate.. Or that's what Frieza would've said before, but now... He doesn't even know what he'd say anymore. The snow-white Icejin was vaguely aware when the Saiyan started to lean down to him.

"Um.. So your guys cleaned up the uh.. 'Mess', right?" Goku whispered into the emperor's ear. A shiver went down his spine when he felt Goku's hot breath. Trying his best to ignore the pleasurable sensation, Frieza leaned away. "Yes, they should've by now. You have nothing to worry about, your little morals are now safe from being offended." The emperor responded in a monotone voice, teasing the ape at the end.

Either not caring about the tease, or he just didn't catch on that it was a joke, the Saiyan leaned back, putting both hands behind his head. "Okay good! I wouldn't want to have that image in my head..heh." Goku replied, ending with a nervous laugh.

Frieza's never quite got why Goku is unsettled by seeing dead bodies at this point. Besides his moral compass, the Saiyan has watched his friends die a million times over already! There really is no point for him to be disturbed by it... But than again, the monkey is quite the jigsaw puzzle.

Reaching their destination, Frieza was pleased when he saw that his men had indeed cleaned up the his morning murder. Typing in the code, the metallic door slid open with ease, revealing the sight of his room. The tyrant walked in nonchalantly, but Goku took his time, admiring the space. He let out 'oohs' and 'ahs' regularly, as he took in the sight of the room. Frieza's ego was stroked at the display, taking pride in the fact that Goku seemed to think highly of his quarters. The emperor's heart even fluttered a bit.

Feeling the urge to, Frieza coughed into his fist. He was in a momentary panic, trying to stop the coughing before it turned into full on wheezing. Luckily, his attempts worked, and only a single petal came out. It was nice to know he could at least halt the coughing, but the itchiness that still remained in his throat told him that this wasn't over yet.

The Saiyan supposedly wasn't aware of what just happened, too caught up in awe. Frieza sighed, _that's probably for the best,_ the evil tyrant thought. Goku then shifted his eyes on one of the bookshelves. Stalking towards it, The ape keeled down, reaching out to touch a book.

"Ow!"

Goku sent a pout towards the Icejin, clearly upset about having his hand swatted by the alien's tail. The tyrant paid little attention to Goku's childish expression, kneeling down besides him instead. Taking the book the Saiyan was reaching out for from the shelf. the emperor carefully opened the decrepited book. He flipped through the pages of rotting, alien, paper. Frieza, then closed the book, wiping the dust off of the cover.

"The SnáekCarver" Frieza quietly said. The Saiyan only gave him a confused look. "The wha..?" Goku asked. The Icejin faced his head towards the earth Saiyan, tapping the cover of the ancient book. "The title." The emperor casually responded. The monkey then let out an uncertain giggle, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oh, that makes sense!" Goku answered back, then pointed a finger at the cover, Frieza's scarlet irises following the movement, "To me it just looks like gibberish!" The Saiyan said.

The alien tyrant just shook his head in amusement, a smirk creeping upon his face. "Of course it does. I grew up knowing almost every language there is, while you were raised on a backwater planet," His ruby eyes shone with mischief, "I expected as much." Frieza coyly said. He was rewarded with another pout. He laughed silently at the expression, before shifting his attention to the book once again. "This is a sacred book from Hareif, a planet I used to own." The Icejin said, with the slightest hint of nostalgia. Goku let out a 'woah' as Frieza placed the book neatly back in it's spot.

"Wait, so you mean all this stuff in your room is from planets you own!" The Saiyan said with astonishment, standing up. Frieza nodded, joining the ape. "Well, you're half correct," His eyes swept across the room, "all of these trinkets are from the planets I've conquered or destroyed." The Icejin answered. Without having to look at him, Frieza could already tell that the simian perked up at his response.

"So that means you have stuff from.."

The emperor already knew the Saiyan's next words.

" _Vegeta_." Frieza finshed for him. A smug expression was present on the Icejin. 

Goku seemed to take in that fact. "Woah.. So you collect these things as a way to preserve their memory.." He said with awe. The Icejin just barked out a laugh. "It's cute you think that way." shaking his head, the emperor made his way over to a different series of shelves. "I imagine it more of a.. Murderer collecting mementos from their favorite victims."

The air between the two got a little more awkward at the statement. Frieza could see the uncomfortable look on the Saiyan's face. Clearing his throat, the tyrant began to speak. "Anyways.. would you care to see the items I have from planet Vegeta?" He said, hoping the veer the ape's attention from his previous sentence. It worked as the Saiyan got visibly excited. "Yeah!" Goku shouted enthusiastically.

Without further ado, Frieza started to look for a certain item. He was already at the section of shelf holding his Saiyan trinkets, so he didn't have to move far to find one. Levitating the shiny object down from it's spot-as Frieza was regrettably to short to reach it normally-it landed comfortably in his pale hands. The small tyrant was aware of how Goku was now standing behind him, peering curiously over his shoulders. "Not gonna lie, kinda forgot you could do that." The Saiyan stated. 

The emperor just shrugged at the random comment. Turning around, Frieza faced Goku, the Saiyan backing up a bit to give him a bit more space. The tyrant smirked down at the item. "This is the amulet of King Vegeta." He said with an air of pride. Goku leaned in too get a closer look at the object. The amulet was a turquoise hue, with a pink gem in the center. Frieza had to admit, it was one of his favorite pieces in his entire collection.

"That's so cool... How'd you get it?" Goku asked with innocent intrigue. Frieza's smirk spread across his face more. Using his telekinesis, he floated to item back to it's place on the shelf. "I'm afraid you wouldn't like the story, Saiyan." The Icejin answered.

Goku didn't need the tyrant to go into any more details, already knowing from the reply what had probably happened. His face harden a bit, before curiosity replaced it, a stupid question forming on his lips. "No," Frieza said. It wasn't hard to tell what the Saiyan was thinking, "You cannot take the amulet back to Prince Vegeta, and if catch you trying to steal it... I won't hesitate to  _kill you_." Atleast, Frieza hoped he wouldn't hesitate. The monkey just pouted, crossing his arms. Of course he wasn't scared of the threat, just upset about being told off when he hadn't even said anything.

Frieza moved on to his next memento from planet Vegeta. This one was on a bottom shelf, so it was much easier to reach for the Icejin. It was carved from rock, shaped vaguely like a magnifying glass, if the base was thicker and the magnifying part was much smaller. Where the glass would be, laid a small piece of metal. There was nothing particularly special about this one, but the Saiyan still showed interest in it.

Sparing a glance at the simian, Frieza returned his gaze back to the small object in his hands. "I got this one when I was first ruling over Vegeta. I came in possession of it from a trader selling crafts." He dragged a finger down the rocky surface, "An unusual hobby for a Saiyan in my opinion, but oh well." Shrugging at the end of his sentence, he placed the craft back in it's original space.

A silence graced over the two aliens. Frieza waited for the ape to say something, yet nothing came from the simian's lips. Finally, Goku spoke up. "So... Is that it?" He questioned the ruler.

The Icejin sighed. "For the trinkets? Yes. Those are the only two I have from planet Vegeta, sadly. But I do have a book about Saiyan biology, though I doubt you'd have any interest in it." He said matter-of-factly. The Saiyan raised his voice to protest. "What! No! I'd totally be interested in it, I swear!" 

It almost sounded like the monkey was pleading with the galactic ruler, and as much as power high Frieza might've gotten from it, he was admittedly confused. "Why are you begging me to show you a book from a thousand years ago? You won't be able to read the language, and the scientific terms will most likely confuse that small mind of yours." Frieza stated.

Goku just crossed his arms. "I guess I just want to know more about my species," He scratched his head, "Vegeta tells me some things, but not a lot.." The Saiyan confessed. The Icejin considered it for a minute, before deciding why the hell not?  _Not like I have anything else to do, besides work,_ He thought. But his reasoning was really just a petty excuse to spend more time with the man his heart longed for.

He waved a flippant hand in the air. "Hmm, fine. I shall abide to your wishes." Frieza spoke in a haughty tone. At the answer, the Saiyan fist-pumped, the almighty ruler trying to restrain an adoring smirk at the action. Plucking the decaying book from its place, the emperor faced the Saiyan with a look an authoritative mother would give their young child. "Knowing your brutish ways, I do not trust you with handling anything. Therefore, you are not allowed to touch this book at all, and the same goes with the rest of the room. Understood?" He questioned in a disciplinary voice.

The ape frantically nodded, promising he wouldn't touch anything. With that rule being addressed, the pale-skinned alien made his way over to the crescent-shaped sofa, Goku following him like a lost puppy. Frieza seated himself comfortably on the furniture, laying the book in his lap as he begun to pour some wine into a glass. Soon after, Goku joined him on the plush sofa. Mesmerized by it's enchanting softness, the Saiyan shifted in his spot, pawing curiously at the texture.

The emperor felt eyes on the back of him. Turning around, he saw the Saiyan looking at his wine glass curiously, as he poured the alcoholic beverage. Glancing at his wine, then back to Goku, he grinned. "Wine?" He playfully asked, tipping his drink at the monkey. Goku looked like he was about to decline, but then a thoughtful look crossed his face.

"Um.. I'll try some?" Goku said, sounding like he wasn't quite sure about his answer. Frieza grabbed another wine glass, proceeding to pour a small amount of wine. The alien handed the Saiyan his glass, as the tyrant started to drink from his own. With ruby irises, he watched as Goku swirled the red liquid around.

"Why did you give me so little?" The Saiyan asked curiously. Frieza shrugged.

"I'm not going to waste a ship worth of money just because you wanted to 'try some'."

".. How much does a ship cost?"

"More than your life, probably."

He earned a pout for that comment, the emperor hiding his chuckles behind a white hand. Suddenly the ape gained a devious smile, which could only mean trouble for the Icejin. Putting a hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion and exaggerating his pout, the Saiyan began his performance.

"You're so mean! I thought we were friends Frieza!"

The emperor scoffed. "As if I would ever be friends with a simpleton like you." He casually took a sip of his wine, unaware of Goku's evil smirk.

"Lovers?"

Frieza resisted himself from spitting out his wine, instead swallowing it haphazardly. The emperor's face was covered in a red hue. Goku, clearly getting a kick out of the flustered expression, was holding his abdomen as he laughed vigorously. The alien ruler started to cough, choking from the wine. This stopped the giggles coming from the Saiyan, as he began to get concerned for the villain.

From between coughs, Frieza shouted. "Shut up!" In response to the ape's tease, before continuing. Appearantly, the coughing caused from the choking was all it needed to start a domino effect. He was done choking, but the coughs kept coming, beginning to get a bit violent. Concerned for the small ruler, Goku asked if he needed help, only to be told off by the scratchy voice of the alien.

Frieza was faced away from the Saiyan, covering his mouth with his hands to prevent Goku from seeing his little 'secret'. Once he felt the disgusting petals in his hands, the tyrant crushed them without hesitation.

Small coughs slowly dwindled away, and Frieza was finally able to breathe clearly again. A strained silence carried out between them, only broken by the occasional wheeze from Frieza. The emperor knew the ape was going to pester him about this, so he tried to veer Goku's focus away from his coughing fit.

".. Are you going to drink the wine?" Frieza said in a breathless, yet annoyed voice. Goku's eyes shined with empathy and worry, a sight that made the Icejin absolutely furious. The ape sighed. "Yeah... But, Frieza-"

"If you aren't going to drink the damn thing, then I'll take it away from you!" The emperor angrily shouted. Goku sighed once again, complying to drink the liquid. With one swift chug, he had down the small amount of wine. Immediately his nose wrinkled, and he stuck his tongue out in disdain. The heavy tension in the room was subdued, and it was Frieza's turn to laugh at Goku's display.

His throat was still sore, but the tyrant didn't care, instead pushing through the pain. He was still giggling when the Saiyan handed him back the wine glass, hilarious expression still present on his face. Frieza put the glass back where it belonged, noting how he'd have to have someone clean it later. 

"How do you like this stuff?!" Goku asked. The ape started to shake his head, trying in vain to get rid of the disgusting taste in his mouth. Frieza let out a an embarrassing snort, covering his face as he continued to laugh. Calming himself down, the emperor shrugged, still very amused. "I suppose I just grew accustomed to it." He answered. As if proving his point further, he took another sip from his wine.

"Anyways, we should stop wasting time and actually start to read the book." Frieza said, stopping Goku's attempts at ridding the wine, as the monkey instead began to focus on the Icejin. The tyrant opened up the forgotten book, starting to read the first line of text to the Saiyan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, this took me awhile[I think?]. Usually I'll spend a lot of time writing multiple paragraphs, but for some reason I just didn't have the energy to write as much as I used too. I have no idea if school is finally taking it's toll on me, or if it's just recent personal stuff.
> 
> So try I had to split this in two parts, like the last one. It was just getting too long :')
> 
> Anyways, I'll keep trying to write chapters. I really want to finish this story, as it's been one of the most enjoyable things I've written in awhile.


	5. Chapter 5

Frieza could tell that the Saiyan was growing bored, and quite frankly, so was Frieza. 

His voice was getting tired from reading aloud the long paragraphs, and he began to slip up, stumbling on his words, making the tyrant become flustered at the mistakes. Also, the Icejin was starting to get annoyed from the Saiyan's endless questioning.

At least he stopped once he began to lose interest.

Goku was shifting restlessly in his spot. His dark irises would shift around the room, occasionally watching a passing planet from Frieza's window. The emperor promptly stopped reading, attention being grabbed by the tapping foot of the Saiyan. The action getting on his nerves.

" _Ahem_." 

Snapping the ape from spacing out, Goku shifted a curious glance at the Icejin. Frieza pointed an accusing finger at the still tapping foot. Goku noticing this gave the small ruler an apology, abruptly stopping his foot's movement.

The pale alien then went back to reading a paragraph about Saiyan ancestors. 

"Hey, Frieza?"

The tyrant let out a questioning hum, tearing his eyes away from the text on the aging paper. 

"What's your species?" The Saiyan inquired.  Frieza smirked at the question, deciding now was a good time to close the book. He placed it to the side of him, Goku's eyes following the action. 

"Well, my kind has many names, " Frieza watched as a spark of interest shined in the ape's dark eyes, "Since we live on the planet Acros, some aliens call us 'Arcosians'. Though others call my species 'Icejins', or 'Frost Demons'." The emperor's smirk widened.

"You can thank me and my family for that little nickname." Frieza put a hand on his chest to show just how proud of that fact he was. The simian thought for a bit, rubbing his chin in a comical fashion. "Huh, doesn't it get kinda confusing having so many different names?" Goku asked.

The emperor shook his head in response. "No, a lot of the names include obvious things that relate to my species," the Icejin held a finger up, "For example, we live on an ice planet, and we generally give our offspring ice related names, such as yours truly. So it's not very confusing at all."

As he finished his sentence, Frieza took another sip of his wine. Goku considered the reasoning, letting out an 'oh' of realization. The Saiyan looked around as he and the emperor sat in silence. The only noise coming from the occasional sips the white alien would make when drinking his wine.

Suddenly something vaguely familiar caught Goku's eyes. "Hey, Frieza, what's that?" He said. The Saiyan pointing a finger in the direction of the thing that caught his attention.

Turning around to face what the simian was pointing at, nearly had the great ruler succumb to a heart attack. What Goku was pointing at was  _his gift_. The gift Frieza supposedly refused back on earth. He had nearly forgotten about the item, as it laid tauntingly on a shelf across from the sofa.

 _Dammit! I should have put that somewhere hidden!_ Frieza thought,  _But then again I never expected the ape to arrive so early... But still! I should have been smarter._

The alien emperor had to get Goku's attention off from the keychain immediately, he couldn't imagine what would happen if the ape found out he had actually taken the gift.

Frieza found it a little funny. He's had to divert the Saiyan's attention often nowadays from his hidden secrets.

The icejin abruptly stood up, placing his wine down. "You know Saiyan, I'm extremely famished. I overslept today, missing out on my morning meal, so you can only imagine how hungry I am." Frieza moved around the couch so he could make it to the door. "You're free to join me if you'd like."

He expected to hear footsteps, but when he didn't, he turned around, baffled and a little worried as to why Goku wasn't following him. Still on the couch, sat the Saiyan, looking at him with a skeptical look.

"You're trying to hide something from me again," the Saiyan said with an unnaturally serious voice, "You think I haven't noticed you always trying to change the subject? I know I'm a little slow, but I'm not dumb Frieza." Goku's voice softening as he continued speaking.

The emperor was admittedly nervous. He didn't know how to weasel his way out. Frieza was trapped, and he didn't know how to escape this time. Goku sighed, standing up and walking over to the seemingly frozen Icejin.

The Saiyan put on a soft smile on his face. "Look, I'll let you have this one freebie," His face began to harden slightly, "But after this I want answers."

Frieza finally regained himself from his paralyzed state, becoming his regular self once again. An angered expression made its way onto the Icejin's face. "I have no obligation to answer you." Frieza retaliated. Crossing his arms in a defiant way to prove a point.

Goku only smiled and shook his head. "I was afraid you'd say that." The Saiyan may have supposedly 'let him go', but the emperor knew that the ape's previous statements were a deathly promise that Goku would not let anything slip past him anymore.

The short conversation made Frieza agitated. Opening the metallic door without a glance, the Icejin quickly made his way past Goku. 

"Uh... Hey! Where're you going?" The Saiyan asked with a tone of surprise. Frieza barely bothered to turn around to face the simian.

"To eat. Are you coming or not." Perhaps put in any other context, his 'question' might have sounded nice. But the tyrant's voice was cold and distant, not a single sign of his previous amusement, or cordiality, present.

Goku sensed the tension in the air, as well as the shift in Frieza. He scratched his head. "Yeah! As long as your invitation is still open!" The Saiyan spoke in an upbeat voice, a pathetic attempt to ease the Icejin's cold anger. At least it was pathetic in Frieza's eyes.

Goku's attempt was proven fruitless as the emperor walked away without a word, leaving the Saiyan to hastily follow after him.

* * *

 The two entered a large dining room clearly used for such things as meetings and banquets. In the middle was a long table, with golden accents accompanying the side of the almost purple tinted wood. There were about twelve seats present. Five on the sides, and two large seats on the ends that resembled thrones. The chairs were also the same design as the table, the only difference being the added addition of a red cushion on all chairs.

The whole room basically screamed 'Frieza'.

Two aliens dressed similarly to waiters bowed immediately once their line of sight got the view of pristine, white, skin. The tyrant spoke in a demanding tone as he addressed the alien waiters, Goku hanging awkwardly behind Frieza as he did so. With the last syllable spoken from the Icejin's dark lips, the aliens quickly bowed, then scampered off away from the Saiyan and Frieza.

Said lizard-like alien took a seat at one of the head chairs, Goku awkwardly taking a seat on the piece furniture next to the emperor. The tension hadn't faded between the two yet, and the Saiyan was admittedly confused as to why Frieza was so upset.

Goku placed his chin in his hand, sighing outwardly, thanks to the confusing situation. Frieza set his blood-like eyes on the Saiyan, thoughts swirling about in his mind. The tyrant didn't like the fact that Goku was now going to be more persistent in getting the truth. The ape was starting to stick his nose in business that wasn't his, and Frieza didn't like that one bit. In fact, it made him slightly nervous.

The emperor let out a 'tch', laying his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hands, completely oblivious to how he just mimicked the Saiyan's actions. Frieza didn't want to talk, and Goku decided that giving the galactic overlord some space would be for the best.

A moment of silence passed, and the white alien shifted a watchful eye over to the monkey. The ape looked like he wanted to say something, but was perhaps too afraid to. Something in Frieza wanted to smirk affectionately at the thought, but the tyrant chose to ignore it. Like he did with most things apparently.

The Icejin's tail swished, slightly uncomfortable due to the position he was in. "If you're thinking about the food, don't worry that small brain of yours. It should be here soon." Frieza said.

The voice of the tyrant broke Goku out of his mulling. The ape focused a surprised glance at the emperor before his expression changed into a kind smile. "I wasn't really worrying about that, but thank for the heads up anyway!" Goku chirped happily.

He didn't know what it was, but Frieza could tell that the simian's happy demeanor wasn't a 100% genuine. Perhaps it was overly high pitched tone from his voice or the missing air of bliss that gave Goku away. The tyrant wasn't sure. But for some reason, it bothered him. And he didn't like that one bit.

A double-sided door off to the left of the room bursts open. The most divine aroma from the food filling up the air. Frieza didn't need to look over to see that Goku was practically drooling from the scent. His servants placed down a magnitude of trays on to the dining table. This was much more food than the galactic ruler was used to, but for the sake of the Saiyan, Frieza had requested double the amount of food.

Servants began taking off the lids from the trays, revealing a horizon of mouth-watering delicacies. Everything Frieza owned was particularly expensive, and the same goes with his food. All of the food laid out before them was exotic and highly rare, stuff only people like Frieza could afford. The ape was lucky enough to be someone the emperor...  _Favored,_  to be able to eat such exquisite cuisine.

A wine glass was placed in front of him, a servant hastily pouring the red wine into the reflective glass. The emperor paid little mind to them, his focus instead locked on the Saiyan. Frieza could tell that the sight and smell of the food alone helped to bring more of Goku's genuine self out. The ape was radiating pure excitement and cheer, the contiguous feeling started to rub off on the Icejin. Though he'd never show it outwardly.

Frieza always felt lighter when the Saiyan was around, like some kind of stress was lifted off the tyrant's shoulders. And the air of pure happiness that exuded from Goku was more contagious than a deadly plague. And  _he hated it_. He hated how  _free_  hefelt around Goku when the Saiyan was supposed to be his enemy! Frieza shouldn't be feeling like this, he shouldn't be falling for the ape beside him! 

...But there was an addictive quality about Goku, a quality Frieza didn't want to let go no matter how much he despised it.

"Hey, " 

The emperor was brought out of his train of thought, now noticing how It was only the two of them in the room now. Frieza let out a hum to indicate that he had heard the Saiyan, who Frieza also noticed, was gorging himself on some kind of meat. The display was quite nauseating.

"You've kinda been just staring at me for a while.." The Saiyan pointed out, barely slowing down his chewing to speak clearly. The Icejin let out a surprised noise at the Information, feeling his cheeks redden ever so slightly from embarrassment.

"Ah... I apologize, I got entangled in my thoughts." 

"That's alright."

There was an awkward pause, the only sound being Goku's loud chewing. The emperor felt a disgusted sneer creeping upon his face, as he watched the Saiyan tear into the food. Goku was covered with filth from his carelessness. Bits of the food covered his face and hands, the ape barely caring as he shoveled one thing after the next.

"Don't you have any sort of table manners?" Frieza questioned with disgust evident in his voice. In response, the Saiyan just scratched the back of his head with an apologetic smile. Rolling his scarlet irises, Frieza turned his head away from the sight, thinking that if he looked at it any longer, he might just start to gag. 

The emperor took a sip of his wine. He spared a glance at what he currently had on his plate, a balance of colorful fruits and meats. Another plate held desserts, while a tray to his right contained a giant crab. Currently, Frieza didn't feel like eating, but who would blame him after what he just saw? His appetite was practically gone at this point.

The tyrant heard the door that both he and the Saiyan enter through, slide open. Frieza could only think of one person who would dare interrupt him during his meal without immediately shouting out what their reason was for doing so.

"Enjoying your meal, Lord Frieza?" Beriblu said, appearing from behind the unsurprised Icejin. _Well, Isn't this just great? Now I have to deal with her incessant teasing, which is just bound to cause trouble,_ he took a quick glance at Goku, the Saiyan's eyes focusing on Beriblu with curiosity,  _especially with this buffoon here._ The emperor thought to himself.

Seeing as her Lord wasn't going to give her an answer, Beriblu shifted her attention elsewhere. "I see that your guest is still here." The old alien said, watching completely unfazed as the Saiyan tore into more food like a ravenous animal.

Frieza focused his attention on his wine, as he swirled it around in his glass. He hummed. "The Saiyan showed no indications of wanting to leave yet, so I invited him to join me for my meal." The emperor responded in a neutral tone. Beriblu let out a noise of understanding, her usual smirk growing wider out of the corner of Frieza's scarlet eyes. 

"Yo!"

The emperor shifted his focus to Goku, the Saiyan wiping the mess off his face with his arms. Frieza didn't resist cringing. With Goku's sloppy cleanup job done, he raised a hand in greeting towards Beriblu. "I've seen you around before! But I never caught your name! Mine's Goku by the way." The simian said with a friendly grin.

The blue alien made her way towards Goku, circling around his chair. "Oh, I know who you are, the infamous Saiyan who beat the Great Lord Frieza." She said.

Hearing his subordinate mention his initial defeat by the Saiyan left an unsavory taste in Frieza's mouth. But he continued watching the scene play out with weary eyes.

Goku's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait, so I'm like... Famous?" He asked innocently. Beriblu nodded her head.

"A little bit." She responded. The Saiyan let out an astonished 'woah' in response.  Beriblu's smirk grew a little softer, a sight that had the emperor slightly surprised. The old woman rarely softened her well-knowing smirk, and if she did, it was only at Frieza.

"My name's Beriblu. Lord Frieza's loyal subordinate..." Her smirk returned back to its usual cunning look as she leaned in closer to Goku, "And nanny." The blue alien whispered next to the Saiyan's ear. 

 _Oh, this is just lovely._ Frieza thought sarcastically. The Saiyan let out an ear-piercing shriek of surprise at the news, mouth hanging wide open. A sparkle of intrigued was ignited in Goku's dark eyes, a sign to Frieza that it was likely time to intervene before the simian started asking questions, and Beriblu started answering.

"Why are you here Beriblu?" Frieza asked in an authoritative tone. The blue alien focused her attention on the ruler, her smug expression staying the same. "Ah, so you suspected there was a reason for me to be here besides bother you," Beriblu said smugly, watching with satisfaction as Frieza's frowned deepened with annoyance, "always so wise, My Lord."

She circled back around to the emperor, levitating nonchalantly beside him. "I came here to discuss recent reports and ongoing planet sales, as it seems you can't be bothered with checking them yourself." She answered.

Frieza shot her a warning glare for that comment, finding her teasing treading awfully close to sounding like insubordination. Beriblu's smug smirk still remained, but she would start taking it easy with the pestering. After all, the tyrant was still her superior.

Confident that the point had gotten across, the Icejin didn't waste another second to groan. The sales weren't so bad, but it was the stupid reports that updated him on what his soldiers were doing that Frieza utterly despised. He used to have Zarbon and Dodoria for that kind of thing, but now they're gone. 

Kikono had his own duties to attend too, being one of the Frieza Force's best scientists. And while Frieza would scan over reports, and handle negotiations with buyers, Beriblu was busy patrolling the ship. So really there was no one else left to handle this burden but him.

With a sigh, the tyrant's tail moved with an irksome flick. "I assume you already have everything recorded on your scouter?" Beriblu gave an assured nod. Frieza released his gaze from Beriblu, staring forward with exasperation. "Very well then, I suppose it is time to proceed." He said with a flick of his wrist. 

Without delay, Frieza's subordinate began reading off reports.

* * *

 The emperor took another bit of his dessert, a blue, warm, sugary, igloo-shaped confection holding cold jam inside that was the same color as the exterior. A dessert native to his home planet. 

Somewhere in the background, Frieza could faintly recognize the voice of Beriblu. But right now, his wandering thoughts muddled the words being spoken to him, making them an incomprehensible mess.

The tyrant was usually much more focused than this, even when listening to boring reports. He supposed his mind was off track thanks to his visitor.

It was...interesting, to put it lightly. The Saiyan had probably eaten half of all the food by now, while Frieza was barely done with his own meal. Of course, this wasn't a surprise to the Icejin. Saiyans were known for their endless appetite, but Frieza always kept his distance from the apes, only ever really interacting with the warrior race in person when it was absolutely necessary. Seeing one eat up close was stomach-turning, yet in some odd way impressive?

Perhaps he was only impressed because Goku wasn't just  _any_ monkey. Not anymore.

Frieza didn't allow himself to dig too deep into that statement. Instead, focusing on another eating habit of the Saiyans'. The porcelain, white, icejin, noticed how Goku favored meat over other foods, such as fruits and vegetables. That's quite common for Saiyans, though the man certainly seemed to have sweet tooth as well.

Their eyes locked for a moment and Frieza's cold heart began to beat frantically. Apparently, the eye contact was a sign of invitation for the Saiyan to speak.

Wiping his mouth haphazardly, the Saiyan spoke. "You know, you never really answered my question." 

Frieza did his best to smother this intense feeling in his heart, yet a small part of it still remained. It annoyed him to no end. Clearing his throat, the tyrant fixed a mildly confused gaze on Goku. "What question in particular?" The icejin questioned.

"You know, the one about 'if you ever had a relationship before'?" The simian responded questioningly, wondering if the space tyrant had forgotten all about it. Frieza's eyes widen to an unnatural extent for a single millisecond, before he trained his expression. A thoughtful look crossed the alien's face, fingers drumming rhythmically on the table. By now, Beriblu had stopped her consistent reading and focused on the conversation instead.

The emperor sighed. "Anyone who ever wanted to court me was never really in it for such sappy things as ' _love_ ', " He swirled the wine in his cup, "It was always about  _power_ ,  _fame_ ,  _riches_..." It was unbeknownst to Frieza the bitter expression that crawled up his face.

"That's not entirely true, My Lord." Beriblu chimed in. "That Ginyu fellow certainly admired you." 

"Ah, I suppose you're right. " Frieza responded, tail flicking back and forth as he recollected that moment. "I remember that day. Ginyu strutting up to me, bowing as he confessed his feelings. I obviously declined his offer of courtship. Not only would it disrupt our work relationship but I wasn't very attracted to the man in any way."  He stated.

Beriblu nodded at his response. "Nonetheless, My Lord has always had quite the posse of suitors, " The women said, directing her words towards the curious Saiyan. "But he's never showed quite the amount of interest he has towards you to other suitors."

Frieza had to stop himself from choking on air. 

The Saiyan donned a confused look. "Um, I'm not exactly sure what 'suitor' means, but I'm pretty sure it means something romantic, " Goku rubbed the back of his head with an unsure grin, "And Frieza and I are  _definitely_ not like that. Besides I'm already taken, heh..."

The icejin didn't know how to feel currently. He was glad that Goku refuted Beriblu's teasing statement, but an ache dug into his chest. An uncomfortable feeling of hopelessness, further solidifying the depressing fact that Frieza will never have Goku and that this sickening disease could only be cured by alternative methods.

"Continue." The emperor commanded his minion with a flick of his wrist. Beriblu picking up from where she was last off, but not without giving her Lord a subtle look of worry. Goku was a bit lost, so he just continued eating what he could with a mind of swirling questions.

* * *

 

 "Thanks for all that food!" Goku exclaimed gleefully. 

The tyrant only gave a small shrug, quirking his dark lips. They were now stationed in the main control room, having finished eating a while ago. Beriblu was standing behind Frieza respectfully as the feminine alien spoke to the Saiyan.

Goku placed two fingers to his temple, preparing to go back home. 

"Wait,"

The ape let out a questioning hum as he looked at the small tyrant. "Is there anything else you'd like to say before you leave?" Frieza asked.

Goku's coal eyes looked up in thought. "Not really- Wait!" He shouted loudly, apparently having an epiphany. "Ah! I almost forgot! Bulma wanted to tell you to meet her tomorrow for something?" 

The tyrant let out a simple 'oh', in response. He smirked and shook his head. "That makes sense. I knew from your behavior that you were probably sent off on a quest of some sort." Ruby eyes shined coyly. "But then again, knowing you, it isn't a surprise you forgot."

"Heh, yeah..." Goku said, rubbing his head apologetically. He gained a confused on his face, lower lip sticking out. "Actually, Bulma never told me why she wanted to see you. It seems kinda strange?" He then shot a suspicious look at the icejin. 

"You aren't planning anything, are you?" The Saiyan asked. Frieza put on the best act he could, forcing an offended, clueless, look on his face. "Planning something? Goku, if I was 'planning something' I highly doubt that earth women would help me." 

He shrugged. "Trust me, I'm just as clueless as you are." After a minute of silently staring, as the Saiyan debated with himself internally, and Frieza doing his best to stay in character, Goku finally gave him a small smile.

"Alright, well, I'll see you later Frieza!" The simian waved as he placed two fingers back on his forehead, disappearing from reality in a split second. The air around where Goku was standing was still warm.

Frieza let out a breathe didn't know he was holding. The pale alien then pointed a look that could only mean bad things at Beriblu. "So you knew the whole time?" He questioned accusingly.

The old women only seemed partially threatened by the look, shrugging as she responded. "It wasn't hard to guess who was responsible for giving you that nasty disease, remember, I have been taking care of you since you were born My Lord."

Frieza let out a disgruntled noise at the statement, tail twitching with irritation. He tore his gaze away from his coy servant. "I do hope that I can trust you to not tell another soul?" He asked in a demanding manner.

"Of course, Lord Frieza."

"Good."

The emperor moved towards the door, prepared to rest his worries away when a curious question from Beriblu stopped him. " If I may ask, who is this 'Bulma' woman, My Lord?" 

He swiveled his head around to face his subordinate, smirk painting his pale complexion. "Someone who I believe will be able to help with my little 'problem'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, wow. This is a long chapter. I honestly didn't feel like splitting this into two chapters, so yeah.
> 
> This took me a long time due to a lot of things happening. I'm almost done with school, so I have to deal with all that fun stuff, and I just currently got a new cat who I named 'Cheelai'.
> 
> Yep, I named her after a DragonBall character, because I just had the craving to name SOMETHING a DragonBall.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter 👌


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frieza visits Bulma for a discussion.

Frieza landed down carefully on the surface of the balcony. The sky was devoid of all clouds, the earth's sun beating down on his, cold, pale, skin. It almost made the emperor purr in delight at the warmth.

In both his hands, Frieza clutched two scouters. One was broken to the point of uselessness, while another belonged to his head scientist, Kikono.

He fitted the undamaged scouter to his ear. With it, he scanned the area for a certain power level. Frieza had no idea if Vegeta was here, so he had to make sure. He could only imagine what would happen if the Prince found out that  _he_ was here.

Luckily for him, the scouter didn't report any power levels remotely close to Vegeta's. Without further hesitation, Frieza opened the glass doors, strutting into the dome-like building.

Being inside revealed a magnitude of winding hallways. The icejin frowned, scanning the area once again with Kikono's scouter. Frieza noticed two power levels that exceeded the majority of the weak ones. He could only suspect them to be Vegeta's offspring.

Frieza sneered as he combed through multiple weak signals popping up on the scouter. The tyrant was so busy in his searching, that he neglected a certain dot heading straight towards him.

"Aah!"

Frieza whipped his head towards the source of the ear-piercing shriek, coming face to face with the exact person he was looking for. Bulma stood in one of the corridors with wide, shocked eyes, which soon changed to anger.

She pointed an accusing finger at him. "You! What are you doing over here? Don't you know you're supposed to use the front door!" She shouted angrily.

Frieza rolled his eyes, already regretting his decision of seeking assistance from this nagging bat. He pointed a glare at her. "If I had used the front entrance, I'd more than likely spook one of your employees, seeing as this planet's inhabitants are still unaware of extraterrestrial life." 

The blue haired women just looked away in annoyance, mumbling, "I doubt they would be scared of you. They've seen weirder things." Under her breath.

 _I'd rather not deal with an endlessly screaming earthling right now, thank you very much,_ Frieza thought. Not bothering to speak his mind out loud, as he was already tired of this conversation.

Bulma sighed, pointing a finger in the direction of the hallway she just came from. "Look, my lab's just over there, follow me and we can finally just get this over with." She said. 

Frieza just let out a haughty sound, tail flicking with Irritation. The women rolled her eyes, not wasting another second to walk down the corridor. The tyrant took Kikono's scouter off, holding it in his grip as he reluctantly followed the earthling.

* * *

 The two entered a room that was a stark contrast from the outside world. Outside was hot to an almost scorching extent, while in here it was cold. Frieza cringed as he first stepped foot into the lab, a painful chilliness running up the reptilian-like alien's leg.

The room was understandably dark. The only light coming from the installed lights on the ceiling. He squinted, finding it hard to stare at them. 

A quick scan around the room showed various technology that was primitive compared to Frieza's own, but it was without a doubt highly advanced for this sad mudball.

The woman made her way over to a chair, next to what appeared to be some kind of computer. She let out an exasperated sigh, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. "Just go sit over there." She said, speaking with tired annoyance, as she waved a dismissive hand.

Frieza's blood red eyes tracked the movement over to an examining table. The tyrant strode over, ignoring the cold biting at his feet. Cautiously sitting down on the table, Frieza wasn't surprised when a shiver ran up his spine. The table was absolutely  _freezing,_ and the emperor found himself subconsciously curling up to preserve more heat.

A thought flashed across his mind. A thought of  _warmth_ , of  _contentment_ , of  _coal eyes_ , of  _dark unruly hair,_ of  _smooth skin and strong muscles_ -

He quickly snapped himself out of the shameful thought, shoving the mental image deep down into the abyss of his mind. The more intellectual part of Frieza scolded himself mentally, while his more emotional side whined at the loss of warmth. Even if it was only imaginary, the thought actually seemed to help warm the alien. The fact made him scowl with self-anger.

"So, is this my payment?" 

Frieza was brought out of his thoughts, now realizing that the earthen woman was sitting right in front of him, leaning on the back of her chair as she stared at him. The tyrant's scowl slowly melted into a neutral expression. He sighed, turning his head away as he tossed the broken scouter towards the woman. Bulma barely caught it as it almost sailed over her head.

She shot an angry look at him, before shifting her gaze to the scouter she currently held in her hands. "I remember messing with one these back around when the Saiyans arrived." Bulma said with a nostalgia-heavy voice, holding the piece of technology up to a light.

"Oh, so you've seen one of these before?" Frieza said, talking more to himself than actually responding to Bulma. He turned his head back to her, flipping a hand in the air. "Well, you shouldn't worry. Since my time on Namek, scouters have drastically evolved. You should have plenty of fun tinkering it with it." The icejin said, tone nearing close to teasing.

She just frowned at the alien. Getting up from her spot, Bulma placed the device on a table, before returning back to her seat. Curiousness glinted in her eyes, pointing at the other scouter. "So, what's that one for?" She asked.

Frieza smirked at her. "This is one of my scientists' scouters, " He also tossed that to her, seemingly having no regard for the important device, "On it is stored every single detail about my biology. So you shouldn't have the need to 'prod' at me." He finished, feeling victorious over finding a way out of the uncomfortable examining he would no doubt have to go through before.

The women turned it over, then poked at the glass, prodding at the scouter like a curious newborn. Frieza watched the display for a minute, before deciding to speak. "I won't have to help you will I? Being as smart as you are, I'm assuming you'll be able to figure it out, hm?" 

She just looked at him with a glare. Equipping the scouter to her ear while still maintaining eye contact with the smug overlord. The emperor watched as the woman fiddled with the device for a moment, before letting out a victorious shout as she turned it on. It was only a matter of seconds before she figured out how to look through the files on him.

 _Good... She figured out how to use the scouter in record time,_ Frieza thought,  _that only confirmed my suspicions on how qualified she will be for fixing this 'mess'._ His smirked remained as he crossed his arms, watching as the blue eyes of the earthling soaked in every little information she could read like a sponge.

Suddenly her eyes widen to an unprecedented extent. The icejin lost his smug expression, suddenly frowning. "What's the matter?" Frieza said with a demanding tone, tilting his head in question.

"You have both...?"

He scowled. "Both what?!"

"...Genitalia?"

The emperor's face went aflame at the ballsy question. He sputtered for a moment before finding his words. "O-of course I do! All of my species does!" Frieza shouted defensively.

Bulma's eyes only began to shine with more intrigue. "But...Why have both?" She asked curiously. Frieza was honestly surprised at how nonchalant the woman seemed to be at asking such questions, while he was becoming flustered beyond belief.

He scowled, tailing curling in irritation and uncomfortability. The icejin sighed, reluctantly giving a small history lesson to the earth woman. "When my ancestors were first becoming a civilized culture, different clans were created. The bigger the clan, the more power one had, " He took in a breath, "So, in order to have a larger clan, my ancestors evolved to have both genitalia. Allowing them to bear more offspring, and in turn, have a bigger clan." Frieza explained.

Bulma let out a small 'huh', rubbing her chin in thought. Her eyes then sparkled, as she excitedly thought up another question to ask the space tyrant. "Wait! Then how do you know what gender you are?" She inquired.

Frieza shrugged. "It is assigned to you at birth by your parents, similarly to your name." The pale alien answered. Bulma murmured a quiet 'fascinating' under her breath, returning to looking through the documents saved on the scouter once more.

Frieza allowed himself to slouch, resting his chin in his hand. He didn't exactly mind answering the questions, but he'd rather not do it again anytime soon, that's for sure.

* * *

Rhythmically, Frieza's tailed swished back and forth, his ruby eyes tracking it in an almost predatory way. The tyrant's focus was interrupted as the woman clapped her hands together, having the scouter unequipped and laying in her lap.

"Oh, " Frieza began, "Are you finally done?" He questioned. Bulma nodded, a dreamy smile appearing on her face. "Your species is so fascinating. I seriously need to write down some notes when I get the chance."

The icejin's stare hardened, clearly having no interest In what the woman thought about his race. "That's great and all, but are you finally ready to begin  _helping me_?" Frieza asked, not even bothering to restrain his sass. Like a rock plummeting down a ravine, the woman's smile dropped Immediately. "Yeah, yeah, be patient, jeez." She responded. Frieza just growled.

She swiveled over to a desk, carefully picking up an old paper with blueprints on it. "Sadly, I didn't bring a notebook so this will just have to do." Vegeta's wife mumbled, seemingly materializing a pen out of nowhere. With the impromptu set of materials in the woman's hands, she scooted her chair back to the tyrant, who had been Impatiently watching from the table.

She laid down the paper on the examining table next to Frieza. Flattening it out, Bulma had flipped it over, writing a simple 'Frieza Disease Notes' at the top. She put the pen comfortably behind her ear. "Alright, so first things first, I need to know who exactly gave you these feelings."

 His eyes widened, making an undignified sound. Frieza had suspected the woman might ask this question, but he was never prepared to answer it. "I- Why do you even need that information?!" The Icejin asked, stumbling over his words.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "The more information I have, the easier it will be to help cure you," She waved a nonchalant hand in the air, "Besides, it can't be that hard to answer. It's not like you're crushing on Goku." Joking, Bulma laughed at her own statement.

_Oh god no._

Frieza's whole body tensed up, tail coiling around his leg subconsciously in nervousness. The earth woman's laughter started to fade away, noticing the expression on the tyrant's face. The Icejin was clearly trying to keep a straight face but failing as Bulma could see the absolute petrified look in his scarlet irises.

"You...You can't be serious?" She said. Frieza scowled, violently turning his head to the side. "You have feelings for Goku.."

Anger boiled up In Frieza as Vegeta's wife began to laugh again. He refused to look at the woman. He didn't want to see her mocking expression.

"Oh my god, you actually have a crush on Goku!" She reiterated. Frieza's scowl only deepened when the woman continued to mock him. His teeth ground against each other in rage, and he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Shut up! I answered your damn question! Move on already!" Frieza shouted angrily. He was mildly surprised-and satisfied-when the woman flinched at his booming response. She's been acting so smug during all their interactions, that Frieza almost thought the woman was dense, not realizing the danger that came with poking a beast with a stick. But  _no_ , it was just all an act. A simple act to make it seem like the woman was doughty. But the reality was that the woman was scared of him.

 _She feared him._  

That made the tyrant, internally, smile sadistically.

"Ok! Fine, I'll stop! Jeez..." Bulma said while putting her hands up in a placating manner. And as the woman adjusted herself to write a note down, Frieza suspected that the earthling hadn't yet realized that the alien found out about her act.

Something occurred to Frieza. He leaned towards the woman, hoping to elicit fear, and since she was basically next to him, he was able to get uncomfortably close. She gave him a weary look from her paper.

"I do hope I can trust In you to not tell anyone about our little secret, " Frieza said In a smooth voice, as he stared down Bulma with a predatory look; like she was a small rabbit, in the eyes of a hungry wolf. "For both of our sakes."

It wasn't hard to notice the subtle threat hinted under the suave voice. Bulma only glanced at the tyrant, the blood lust in his eyes sending a nervous shiver down her spine. Though she'd never show it.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you'll be fine. If anyone found out that  _I_ was helping  _you_ , I'd no doubt be in big trouble." She responded. The emperor's sadistic look toned down, red irises now shining with mischievous intent instead.

"Ah, of course. I'm assuming your friends would see it as betrayal, " He paused for added effect, "Especially your dear  _husband_." The tyrant finished with a venomous tone, obviously affecting the earthling, who couldn't stand to look at the villain anymore.

They were even now. If the woman decided to tell anyone about Frieza's illness, or who had caused that illness, the proud emperor would lose everything. And If Frieza decided to out Bulma by showing her friends and family that she was helping one of their greatest foes, she'd also lose everything; or at the very least, their respect.

 "Do you know of any way to cure this disease?" Bulma asked. She still refused to look at Frieza, favoring instead to look down at her paper as she waited for a reply. The pale alien leaned back, finally giving the woman some space.

His tail moved back and forth languidly. "Yes, there're only three ways I know how to cure the 'Hanahaki Disease'." He responded. Raising a single, white finger in the air, Frieza continued. "One Is only able to either confess their feelings and see if the person reciprocates them in return, or die a slow and painful death. Though one can always get the flower surgically removed, " He laid his chin in his palm, "Only thing is, if you do get surgery... You'll lose all your feelings for that person." Frieza finished explaining.

_No, no, no. I am not going to rethink this. I already made my decision and I'm not going back. No matter how addicting the feeling is, no matter how much I enjoy the exchanges between me and the Saiyan, no matter how much I reluctantly enjoy the feeling of my heart beating out of my chest..._

_No, I won't be swayed by such ridiculous things! I am doing this, and that is my final decision._

"Is that it?" 

Frieza was forced away from his thoughts, and back into reality. The earthling was staring at him weirdly like he had grown two heads. The alien emperor coughed into his hand. "Ah, yes.." His scarlet irises shifted down, "Though I always suppose you can kill them." 

Bulma gasped, then proceeded to scowl at the tyrant. "Don't you even think-"

"Oh please. I already tried that, and I wasn't able to go through with it..." Frieza responded in an almost solemn tone. He still didn't know why he wasn't able to kill the man who he's hated for years. For now, he was blaming it on the cursed flower, though he refused to think what would happen if he acknowledged what else could have really held him back.

"Really...?" The earthen woman mumbled to herself in astonishment. The tyrant only let out a grumble, completely oblivious to the cunning look in the woman's eyes as she scribbled down more notes with almost inhuman speed.

"Anything else you can tell me about the disease?" The woman asked, looking up from the paper. The tyrant shook his head.

"Nothing that you don't already know."

"Right."

Bulma quickly preoccupied herself with writing down the details she could remember from that night Frieza approached her for help. He watched her for what felt like the millionth time today as she wrote away. Frieza was starting to lose the last of his patience, which wasn't surprising, as he's  _been_ losing it throughout the entire day.

It was time to finally get what he came here for and the emperor didn't waste another second to spring his request on the earthling.

"I want you to surgically remove the flower." 

"I-I'm sorry, what?" Bulma stumbled as she hastily stopped writing. He swished his tail impatiently. "You heard me," Frieza said.

She looked at him with wide eyes, before her expression turned into smoldering rage. "You can't expect me to do that on such short notice, not to mention with the little knowledge I have!" 

Frieza face began to scrunch up in displeasure at the woman's hollering. "You read all the necessary data about my biology, did you not? Not to mention all the information you have about the disease already. I don't see what the problem is." He said matter of factly.

His know-it-all response only angered Bulma further. "That's still not enough to do a full on surgery!" The woman stood up from her chair, crossing her arms defiantly, "Not only that, but I would refuse to do it anyway."

That broke the last of Frieza's patience.

" _What?_ "

 "You heard me, " She smirked deviously, "I wouldn't do it even if I had all the required information." 

It was Frieza's turn to become angry. The alien stood up for his spot on the examining table, pale face red with hot rage. " _You-_ you promised me you would help me!" The great emperor hissed. 

There was a small distance between them, the woman being slightly taller than the Icejin. But even with that advantage, Frieza was able to pinpoint the subtle wavering of the woman's defiant stance, and the bob in her the throat as she gulped.

 _I almost forgot about that.._. Frieza smirked maliciously.

_Bulma still feared him._

The space emperor was still undeniably mad about the woman's refusal, but as he smirked, Frieza didn't hesitate to point a finger at her. The tip started glowing with an orb of purple ki. He was satisfied when she backed away in fear.

"Such a shame. I really thought you could have helped me, you had such  _great potential_ ," Frieza let out a mock disappointed sigh, "But now it seems I must look for another person to fill your spot." 

He thought he really had her in a corner, yet his smirk vanished. His threatening, which would have brought anyone else to their knees, cowering in fear, only seemed to make her braver. The woman was now smiling...? It baffled him to no end.

Frieza dropped his smug expression, scowling immediately. "Why are you smiling like that!? Don't you understand that you're supposed to be afraid, you stupid earthling!" He spat.

Bulma's victorious smile grew. Even though she was still shaken up, her fear was slowly ebbing away. "Oh, give me a break, you can put your finger down. We both know you won't actually shoot." Bulma said smugly.

Frieza let out a harsh bark of a laugh. "You think I'd put killing below me!" He strengthened the death beam. "You're much more naive than I thought." 

Her smirked intensified. "Oh, sure, kill me. But let's see how that'll pan out for you when someone discovers my dead body. Vegeta will certainly be mad, but how do you think  _Goku_ will react." She said.

The thought of how the ape would react wavered the Icejin's resolve, subconsciously making the tyrant lowered his finger before his face scrunched up in a weird mix between confusion and anger. "What're you..."

Now the earthling pointed a finger at Frieza. "Face it, you aren't able to harm others in good conscious thanks to your feelings for Goku... Or at least people close to Goku..." Bulma looked off to the side awkwardly for a moment, "But that's beside the point!" The woman reinforced.

She walked closer to him. "Look, the only thing stopping you from senseless killing is your feelings for Goku. If I performed the surgery on you, all of that would go away."  She stared him dead in the eye. Blue clashing with red. "This is the only way to keep the universe safe without having you physically dead."

The emperor shook his head in denial. "No, no, no, no...! Lies!" He once again pointed a death beam at her. "I can, and will, kill you! Just watch!" He shouted at her.

Frieza refused to believe that these feelings were preventing him from being the merciless ruler he once was. But as they both stood in the room, silence brewing between them, Frieza found out that he couldn't do it.

He growled, teeth grinding together as he tore his finger away from the woman, looking at his palm questioningly. Once again, that mindless ape had to ruin  _everything_. And time and time again, these stupid emotions,  _love_ , brought him nothing but weakness. Whoever said 'Love makes you stronger' be damned.

It was just as his father always said.

The woman gained a bit of sympathy for the villain, as she watched him crumble into himself internally. Bulma sighed, catching the attention of the distraught Icejin. "Look... Right now I don't have enough information to find an alternative way to cure you, " She rubbed her arm, "So for now, we'll just have to try and make Goku like you."

The pale tyrant let out a bitter laugh. "Good luck with that!" Frieza shifted his red irises to the floor, the memory of Goku explaining to Beriblu how they 'weren't like that' coming to the forefront of his brain. "The ape clearly has no interest in me," Frieza said.

Bulma put a hand on her hip, smiling at the emperor. "I'm not so sure about that, " Frieza let out a questioning hum, tilting his head in confusion. "Goku constantly talks about you. He does it so much now, that Vegeta actually has to walk away from the conversation, just so he doesn't have an aneurysm."

Frieza glared at her. Bulma just shrugged, laughing apologetically. "His words, not mine." She clarified.

The tyrant thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. Often, talking about someone frequently is a sign of attraction... The icejin wonders what he says about him. Does he say nice things about him? Or does Goku describe how twisted and evil Frieza is to his friends? Does the monkey... Compliment him? Tell how fun it is to be around Frieza, what great conversations they have, how beautiful Goku finds his pale complexion?

Frieza flushed at that last thought. Everything he was thinking about was purely delusional. Sure Goku wasn't the type to discuss such things as his hatred for the Icejin, and if he did, wouldn't Vegeta stay to listen? So, he deduced that Goku must talk about nice things, just not the same romantic garbage Frieza was thinking about a moment ago.

The emperor hummed, another question popping into his brain. "What about Goku's mate?" Frieza inquired. No, he didn't ask the question because he was concerned for the woman. No, the Icejin was merely wondering as to why Vegeta's wife would help him steal Goku away from Chi Chi.

Bulma sighed, tipping back on her heels. "Their relationship... Isn't really all that 'romantic', " She looked to the side, "At least not anymore..." 

The earthling looked back at him with a tint of hope in her eyes. "I think it's a good idea for the two of them to take a break. And hey, If you want to take a swing at having a relationship with Goku, that's fine by me." She explained.

Bulma then leaned uncomfortably close to Frieza, making the alien lean away from her in response. The woman pointed a finger at him, close enough that it almost looked like the earthling was about to boop his nose. A thought that made Frieza cringe.

Cunning intent swirled in the aqua eyes of the woman. "And I think I know just how to get Goku to start liking you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me posting this at midnight.
> 
> So, I know some of you might be disappointed that there aren't any interactions between Goku in Frieza in this chapter. I apologize for that, and the wait, but I don't always have the opportunity to have them interact. I need to have these sort of chapters to progress plot, but I'm still sorry.
> 
> But the next chapter should be a treat. It's basically a beach episode.
> 
> So yes, Frieza will be in a swimming suit.
> 
> Be prepared.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaa
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Also, prepare yourself.

Frieza didn't necessarily dislike silence, he actually found it quite nice. A way to think freely without disturbance. But right now, he really shouldn't be left alone with his thoughts.

It was only a couple minutes back when the woman asked for the icejin to follow her. And, of course, he followed.

So now he has no idea where he's going, or what the woman was planning and all the emperor wanted to do is get back to his ship, where he could drown his thoughts in work, enjoy some wine,  _and be left alone._

 _But no,_ instead Frieza was possibly having a mental breakdown. Or that's what it felt like. His thoughts felt like they were engaged in a civil war. The logical, heartless, part of Frieza was fighting against his more emotional, and lustful side. The two sides disagreeing on what Frieza should do when it came to Goku or the 'Hanahaki Disease'.

There was no middle ground, and  _it was agonizing._

For what felt like hours- though the tyrant was aware of how it was likely minutes- he had been trying desperately to take his mind off of the Saiyan and the disease, but the blank, twisting, walls of the corporation was of no help.

And Frieza didn't want to talk to the woman, seeing as she'd likely only antagonize him further. He really didn't want to deal with that.

A faint sound grabbed the tyrant's attention. As he followed the woman, Frieza pinpointed that it was coming from his left, down a hall the two were close to passing. It was a  _pit-pat_ type of noise, and it was coming closer. Fast.

Without warning, two small shapes raced across the intersection in the hall. An alarmed sound squeaked out of Bulma as soon as they did so.

Did... Did his eyes deceive him? Or did Frieza just see a  _tiny Goku?_

Vegeta's wife was clearly not pleased about almost being run over. "Slow down boys! And watch where you're going!" She shouted down the hall the two children had disappeared. A faint 'ok' was thrown back in response, prompting the woman to roll her eyes. 

"I'm sorry, but... Did I just see a... 'Mini Goku'?" Frieza asked. He felt stupid asking that question, but he wanted clarification, even though the emperor had somewhat of an idea.

Bulma turned to look at him, smirking. Why did he even bother? She put a hand on her hip. "I'm not surprised that you might have thought that, but that was one of Goku's sons, Goten."  The woman explained.

 _Just as I suspected,_ the tyrant thought. Goku had told him before about his two sons, Gohan and Goten. One was already grown up, even having a family, while the other was still quite young.

"Ah, but what is he doing here?" Frieza questioned as they started moving again, desperate to cling onto the conversation. His mind was momentarily distracted when he saw Goten, being able to keep his thoughts off of his problems. But without something to help avert his attention again, the Icejin would only go back to his inner conflict.

"This might be surprising, but our son and Goku's son, are close friends." The woman explained,  "So Goten wanted to get ready here." She said, not bothering to turn her head to face the tyrant as they continued onward to this mystery location.

 _Wait._ "Get ready for what?" Frieza thought out loud. He wasn't expecting a response from the woman, but she replied anyway.

"We're having a beach party today," Bulma said, tilting her head to face Frieza. "All of the Z fighters are invited." She smirked.

"That's why I'm taking you to my room in the first place." She waved a nonchalant hand in the air as she said this. This stopped the emperor in his tracks momentarily. "Your... Room?" Frieza questioned.

As one of the notorious, if not  _the_ most notorious villain in the cosmos, Frieza always had to be on high alert. With the vast amount of enemies he has spread across the universe, it was always a good idea to be wary. Though the emperor highly doubted that some measly peasant could trick, or even dare to hurt him(like they could)...

A memory of Goku flashed across his mind. 

_One never knows what could possibly happen._

So, summarized in one sentence, the Icejin was suspicious. This might be the exact time she betrays him or tries to do something to him. But the great emperor doubted that the woman would be able to do such a thing to him. Though once again, one could never know what could possibly happen in a realm of infinite possibilities.

So when the two finally reached a door, Frieza was fully prepared to react to any situation that might happen once the door had opened.

Bulma opened the door and the Icejin's muscles tightened in fight response. Yet the tension slowly faded away from Frieza once he took in the room.

It was... Rather plain. Beige walls, with a neutral colored carpet. There was a small hallway occupied with one door. He could only assume that it leads to a bathroom. Going deeper into the room revealed a large bed, above was a tack board with various photos. One was of a vacation, another, a wedding, and then there was a family photo. 

Frieza couldn't bear to look at that one for long.

Next to the bed was a body length mirror. A large window was front and center in the room, allowing an exquisite view of the city. Next to the window was a desk, a device laid on top of the desk with a framed picture and plant sitting next to it. And finally, on a wall across from the window, Frieza saw a closet.

"You can sit on the bed if you'd like," Bulma said, passing the icejin as she made her way to the aforementioned closet. "Finding an outfit for you might take a while."

Frieza didn't complain, getting himself comfortable on the bed. It was soft... But nowhere near the exquisite feeling of his own furniture. The tyrant shifted uncomfortably for a minute, trying to get used to the 'cheap' feeling of the mattress.

He turned his attention to the earthen woman as she opened the closet carelessly, thinking back to what she had said only moments ago. 

Frieza's eyes narrowed at her form. "You haven't told me what you plan to do to 'help' me and an explanation would be _highly_ appreciated." The pale emperor said to the woman with plain bitterness.

Bulma turned her head to face the Icejin, a smug look decorated her complexion. She raised a finger in the air, beginning to explain her 'master plan'. "Initial attraction to someone usually stems from lust. If someone perceives you to be 'pretty' or 'sexy', they're more likely to gain feelings for you."

The blue-haired earthling shifted her attention back to her closet, scanning millions of clothes. "And that's why I'm trying to find a swimsuit for you." 

Her answer only left Frieza with more questions. But most importantly, it made Frieza feel offended. He narrowed his eyes further. "Are you implying I'm not _attractive_?" He put a hand on his chest, "Because I'll have you know, that I am desired throughout the universe by people who love _and_ loathe me equally." 

The icejin rested his hand on a thigh as he calmed down ever so slightly. "Also, 'swimsuit'? I'm assuming this is an article of clothing meant specifically for swimming purposes. Why would I require one?" Frieza questioned.

Bulma stopped what she was doing to look back at the tyrant, waving her arms frantically, and shaking her head. "No! I was never calling you unattractive, you're just not my type is all... Though, I'm sure others find you attractive. Especially with all your curves." The woman explained.

The emperor blushed lightly at the genuine compliment, shifting his blood-red eyes away from the woman coyly. He crossed his arms. "Well, at least you have the right idea." He huffed.

She just rolled her eyes.

Frieza noticed her go back to, once again,  shifting through earthen clothing. Occasionally throwing some articles on the floor as she searched. "Also, I'm specifically looking for a swimsuit because every Z fighter is going to go to a resort I own on an island for the beach party. So that's why." Bulma had explained to him, lifting up an outfit, only to throw it on the floor, "And since you usually don't wear clothes, wearing a revealing swimsuit will make people intrigued. Goku already knows what you look like without clothes, but it'll subconsciously make him think that there's something to hide, only further alluring him."

"And it will accentuate your shape." Bulma pointed out, putting her arms near her torso, and making a 'curvy' gesture with them.

Frieza rested his chin in his palm, the now familiar sound of clothing hangers sliding swiftly from side to side returned. The galactic emperor reviewed over the convoluted explanation mentally. 

So, essentially, her plan was for Frieza to seduce the Saiyan. Planting a seed of lust in his heart, that would supposedly blossom into 'love'.

...The emperor only now realized how his metaphor was unnervingly close to that of his current situation.

He decided not to reference flowers anymore when using figurative language.

The emperor supposed the human's scheme would work. After all, it was lust that initially attracted Frieza to the Saiyan. When they first fought on Namek, the prospect of someone being powerful enough to challenge Frieza in his final form was  _thrilling._ The strength the Saiyan demonstrated made the Icejin feel something that he hadn't felt for someone in a long while... But then Goku got serious, and Frieza lost, making him despise the ape.

Though there was always a pull at the back of his mind. His lust for Goku only exceeded further when invading earth, and it finally reached its peak during the Tournament of Power. And now Frieza was stuck with  _this situation._

More clothes were thrown to the ground next to him, Frieza watched as the assortment of clothes on the carpet started morphing into an eyesore of colors. One piece of clothing caught his attention among the pile.

It was black, a small red coming with it. A giant hole was in the back of the outfit, purposefully there to reveal the wearer's back in a sensual fashion. Most odd of all, it came with these large, white, ears, that seemed to flop over constantly.

"What's this?" The alien asked in curiosity. The blue-haired woman angled her head to see what Frieza was talking about. A hearty blush spread across her face.

"That's meant for... 'Special Purposes.'" Bulma shyly explained. Frieza immediately understood what she meant, flinging the outfit across the room with disgust. He wiped his right hand on the blanket, aware of how overdramatic the action looked, though he could care less. The emperor just wanted every _single, last, bit_ of residue from that skimpy outfit to be gone from his person.

The tyrant was momentarily surprised when Bulma let out a triumphant shout, a piece of clothing landing next to him on the bed.

"Try that on!" The woman exclaimed, clearly excited for the result. Frieza turned his attention to the piece of clothing, picking it up. He assumed it was a 'swimsuit'. It was a solid black color as well as a one piece. The back was exposed similarly to the outfit Frieza was looking at only moments ago, except this one didn't have a bow. No, instead, it seemed like you had to tie two straps extending from the swimsuit around the back of your neck.

The small tyrant's nose wrinkled in displeasure. Did he really want to do this? To wear some alluring clothing from a backwater planet, only to flaunt his body for a _monkey_? A disgusting ape who only continued to ruin his life?

_Why does he want to further continue this hell?_

He dropped the black outfit and sneered, turning his head away from it and sticking his nose up in the air. "I appreciate the effort, but I don't want to wear any of your  _disgusting, earthen,_ clothing." The Icejin hissed.

The earthling's shining blue eyes widened to the size of dinner plates before a surge of rage contorted her face. "I wasted precious seconds that I could've been getting ready, for you!" She accused. Bulma than directed a hand towards the tower of clothes scattered upon her floor, "And made my room a mess!"

She turned away from him, crossing her arms across her chest. "The least you could do is to stop acting like a child and put on the swimsuit." The woman whispered under her breath.

Frieza was immediately offended at having his behavior compared to that of a child.  _This woman has no idea what is going through my head, and she just has the nerve to say such a thing!_

" _Oh, I'm the child?_ At least I'm not hollering like a prepubescent teenager!" The emperor refuted. Bulma scoffed, her back still turned to the alien as she replied. "Says the person who won't put on a simple piece of clothing, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO HELP THEM." Bulma taunted with a comically loud voice.

Frieza seethed. He could crush _every single last bone_ in her body without _breaking a sweat_.  _Oh,_ and how easy it would be with her back turned, but...  _Goddamn Goku._

The acknowledgment of how the vicious tyrant couldn't kill this woman with the thought of Goku looming over his conscious only seemed to further aggravate him. But he wouldn't let the woman get the satisfaction of seeing him become more enraged.

"Fine then! If it'll stop you from shouting at me, I suppose I'll just have to be the _adult_ in this situation!" Frieza said. Bulma's body tensed, her mouth opened and closed for a few minutes, trying to find something to say back, before she just gave up.

"Whatever!" Was all she shouted, "At least you'll put on the clothing now." The blue-haired woman silently mumbled under her breath. Frieza heard her but decided to not ignite that fiasco again. The lizard-like alien picked up the swimsuit, cringing slightly.

He sighed,  _might as well get this over with. Besides, I've already lost enough of my dignity thanks to that monkey, what's it matter if I lose some more at this point?_ He thought, uncharacteristically hopeless.

He was just tired and wanted this whole issue with the disease, Goku, everything, to be over with. If this would help him with that problem, then so be it.

 _Anyways, it wouldn't be so bad,_ He rubbed the smooth material with his thumb,  _the fabric reminds me of the spandex my warriors wear with their armor... Just with less of an actual purpose._

Swallowing his pride the best he could, Frieza reluctantly slipped on the revealing piece of clothing. Quickly tying the strings behind his neck into a dainty bow, conceded his embarrassment. The fabric felt slightly foreign on his scaly skin, but as he mentioned before, not very different from the spandex. 

The emperor's whole face was painted with a bashful red, the saturated color clashing with his pearly skin. Even with the overwhelming embarrassment coursing throughout his veins, Frieza decided to face the mirror that was conveniently resting next to the bed.

Due to the apparel being fitted for a human, the tyrant's tail had to be raised uncomfortably high. If Frieza was going be wearing this swimsuit for an extended period of time, he would have to request the clothing to be tailored for his comfortability.

Other than that stark fault, everything else was fine. _Hell_ , even the woman was right, it did indeed pronounce his figure. The suit definitely brought attention to his lower body. Of course, his chest and other areas looked great, but it was his  _thighs_ that took the cake.

Frieza isn't exactly a big fan of his thighs. While the rest of his body was slim and muscular, his thighs were all fat(Thanks to how much he spoils himself, or well, that's what Beriblu tells him). It always baffled the alien tyrant when people complimented his thighs. It seemed to be the most popular part of his body, ironically enough.

He never saw why, but, by wearing this swimsuit, he almost understands. Another enhancement was his behind, and if he was being crass;  _His ass looked great._

The woman slid up next to him, an excited expression decorating her face. "Sooooo?" The earthling asked with suspenseful excitement flowing in her tone of voice.

The emperor rubbed the stretchy material once more. "I... Must admit I do enjoy it, " Frieza replied airily. From the corner of his eye, the woman only seemed to get more excited, fidgeting as she waited in suspense for the alien to finish his sentence. "But it is very uncomfortable. If you were to cut a hole where my tail could fit, that would fix the problem."

Bulma only nodded vigorously as Frieza began to undo his little bow, preparing to take off the swimsuit. 

"Yeah, yeah, that's no problem, " She said, as the emperor slipped out of the clothing, "I can have that done in no time!"

Frieza watched in amazed bewilderment as he handed the woman the clothing, before she made her way to the door, chatting on undeterred. The door made a loud sound when Bulma closed it. The emperor shook himself out of his 'entrancement'. 

The blue-haired woman seemed overjoyed that Frieza put on the swimsuit. It was bizarre, and he just couldn't wrap his head around her excitement. Were all earthling females like that when it came to such material things like accessories? He'd have to ask Goku...

_Goku._

With a sigh, the galactic ruler plopped himself on the bed, cradling his head in his cold hands.  _What am I ever going to do with that monkey?_ He thought.

It was supposed to be simple. Frieza was supposed to hate Goku, that was the script he was meant to stick too. But now things have spiraled out of control, and he doesn't even know what his feelings for the ape are anymore. Did he _l_ _ove_  him? Did he  _hate_ him? Was he...

 _Obsessed?_  

That seemed like the only viable answer. He sighed again, rubbing his face now with his hands. Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't this just  _never happen_? Was this a curse from the gods? To be stricken with a malady in the version of a twisted romance? It felt like it.

Speaking of the 'Hanahaki Disease', Frieza hasn't coughed up any petals yet. One wouldn't see it behind his hands, but his stare hardened.  _It was suspicious_ , and Frieza didn't like that one bit.

Before he could further elaborate on that thought, Bulma burst into the room, practically shoving the improved outfit in his face. "Is this better?!" She excitedly asked.

Frieza scowled at the proximity between them, cautiously taking the clothing and scooting away from the seemingly deranged woman. With a quick glance shot at Bulma, the alien overlord inspected the swimsuit. A hole had been freshly cut for him in the fabric, and he was surprised at how clean the cut look.

He hummed thoughtfully, "This will do," He then brought back his gaze towards the woman, "Though I'm a little surprised that you were fine with botching the outfit." 

The tyrant watched as Vegeta's wife made her way towards the pile of clothing resting on the floor. She picked some up, gently resting them in the crook of her arm before gathering another set. Bulma shrugged. "I have enough money to buy another, so it really doesn't matter." The woman replied.

She began placing the clothes back to their respective spots in the closet. "Besides, I'm not going to keep it," Bulma turned her head to stare at Frieza with a cunning grin, "I don't think I'd want something you've been wearing for the entire day." She lightly teased.

Frieza only rolled his eyes, unimpressed with her jab at him. She lightly snickered.

* * *

He was regretting many decisions. Mainly, why he thought asking help from this woman would be a good idea. 

After the woman had finished fixing up her mess, she promptly told the emperor that she had to get herself ready for the beach party. So, Frieza had watched with boredom as the earthling packed foreign materials into bags, and got the children prepared as well.

And now he was here, sitting in the back of what the woman called an 'airplane', bashfully wearing the black swimsuit. The emperor directly avoided looking at the woman- who had now donned herself in a yellow swimsuit, with pink floral patterns, and a frill around the shoulders- and the children.

Especially Goku's spawn.

It was unnerving how similar the boy looked like his father, almost nearly identical. The boys never tried to talk to him, probably out of fear. The thought tickled his sadistic side. Though, sometimes he would catch them looking at him curiously.

Like right now for example.

It was amusing how they thought he didn't realize they were staring at him, but annoying nonetheless. Frieza found out fairly quickly that he didn't like 'Trunks'. Beside looking suspiciously like the monkey who had cut him into two, the child just had an overbearing, and annoying personality. Though what was he expecting? It was Vegeta's offspring after all.

The other boy, Goten... Well, he had no idea how to feel about him. He was... Alright, the emperor supposed, and there wasn't much to say about the baby resting comfortably in Bulma's arms.

The tyrant suddenly heard an exchange of whispers.

"Hey, isn't that the guy who invaded earth?" Goten whispered silently to Trunks.

"Yeah."

"Isn't he evil?"

"I... I Think?" 

Apparently, Frieza wasn't the only one listening in on their conversation. These kids really had no concept of what whispering was. 

"Remember Trunks," Bulma interrupted, not taking her eyes off of the blue skies ahead of her, "He's one of the good guys now."

_Excuse me?_

The Icejin let out a startled noise at the comment. The woman was covering up their 'secret', but having a little fun at the same time and she clearly knew what she was doing. Frieza didn't need to see her face to understand that she was smirking.

The statement was an insult to Frieza. Never in his life did he ever want to be grouped up with  _them._ He might've helped the Z fighters in the Tournament of Power, but that was for his own benefit. As much as he didn't want to admit, the only reason why he would ever help them again would be because of Goku.

"Oh, yeah! Dad told me that!" Trunks explained, apparently having a revelation.

"Oh! Now I understand why my dad always talks to him!" Goten innocently claimed.

The two adults didn't dare to speak after that.

* * *

 

The large airplane skidded to a stop, dangerously close to the beach for that matter. Bulma had briefly explained earlier to Frieza when she was packing things that this was a private resort, so only those who were invited are allowed to come. Supposedly, the woman had bought this small island so Goku and Vegeta could train without hurting anything, or anyone.

Really, too much of a hassle in his opinion.

One, by one, everyone slipped out of the vehicle, Frieza being the last to step out. The emperor was a little disappointed when the ape didn't come running over to greet him. Actually, he didn't see Goku anywhere. He saw his wife- which Goten ran over to- but no Goku.

_Where the devil is that monkey?_

The tyrant frowned. A hand suddenly touched his shoulder, causing him to tear his body away from the person. For a millisecond he thought(hoped) it was Goku, but no.

Just the woman.

"Vegeta will be arriving soon with Beerus and Whis. I'll try to come up with a story to explain why you're here to Vegeta." She explained, "Probably just gonna accuse Goku." The woman shrugged.

"What if the Prince doesn't believe it?" The pale-skinned alien questioned skeptically. Bulma just smirked and waved a hand in the air. "It'll be fine. As soon as I say 'Goku', Vegeta will just roll his eyes and grunt, no further explanation needed." She reassured.

Frieza only hummed in response.

"Anyways, I'll be over there," The earthling pointed over to where her son was putting up a blue umbrella, the baby girl watching him contently from her spot underneath the shade, "So if you need anything, you know where to find me." Bulma finished.

The emperor scoffed. "Unlikely." He replied, but the woman was already walking away. A bit offended by her poor manners, Frieza strutted over to a deserted section of the beach. No one had set up over here yet, so it was the perfect place for the Icejin to be left alone to his own devices.

He laid down with his back facing the sun on the golden sand. He was pleasantly surprised at how hot the sand was. The sun was already warm enough, but this made it even better. The tyrant crossed his arms out in front of him, lazily resting his chin on them. The heat felt so divine on his cold skin, his tail subconsciously swaying with delight. Frieza was actually starting to not regret agreeing to the woman's outrageous proposal.

His chest rumbled with a content purr as he continued to sunbathe. All of his worries seemed to vanish for a moment, a bliss the emperor intended to bask in for however long he could. Frieza wasn't even thinking about Goku, not even about the 'Hanahaki Disease'.

The tyrant's body felt so light like he was floating. He wished he could stay like this forever, but alas, all good things must come to an end. The heat from the sun was suddenly blocked by a shadow, causing the emperor to whine in disdain. He turned his head to the person who dared interrupt his sunbathing, intending to glare at them with every bit of malicious he had.

But lo and behold, it was  _him_. The person who was responsible for all his misfortunes, the father of ex machinas himself.

 _Goddamn Goku_.

He was smiling down at him with a smile that might as well replace the sun itself. In his right hand, Goku was holding- what Frieza could only assume- two earthen treats. In the other, he held a beach towel. Oh, and the monkey was apparently shirtless, wearing only colorful shorts. That certainly surprised the emperor.

"Hello monkey," Frieza simply greeted, trying his best to restrain a smile, "Where've you been?" He asked. He hoped his eagerness of wanting to see the ape didn't slip into his voice.

"Oh, I just got back from training with Whis and Vegeta, also Lord Beerus," He said. Goku jerked his head in the direction of the new arrivals, "I sensed your Ki when we got here, but I couldn't see you until I got ready." The Saiyan explained, awkwardly trying to gesture at himself with the clutter in his hands.

 _So that explains his absence,_ Frieza thought. Suddenly the pale emperor noticed something. Goku was strictly keeping eye contact like he was afraid of looking anywhere else. Sure, he shamefully appreciated the long gaze, but it was  _odd._ And If he paid more attention to the Saiyan's face, the tyrant could notice a dusting of blush on his cheeks.

_No, don't tell me... The woman's outlandish idea can't seriously be working._

But it seemed like it was. Frieza suddenly gained his own light blush. Goku scratched the back of his head awkwardly, averting his gaze away from the Icejin. "So, uh, what's with the... Swimsuit?" The Saiyan asked shyly.

The tyrant began to smirk thanks to a sudden devilish idea. Pushing away his previous embarrassment, the tyrant sat up, gently rolling a piece of the fabric between his forefinger and thumb. "That Bulma woman gave it to me, said I would look nice in it," Frieza looked up the Saiyan, smirking as he started to rub his hands up and down his body, "I think she was correct, don't you?" He cooed.

If Frieza was going to have to deal with the humiliation of wearing this, then he might as well make Goku suffer with him.

The sadistic tyrant was rewarded when more color flooded into the ape's cheeks. Goku once again looked away. "Uh... Yeah, it looks..nice.." The Saiyan awkwardly squeezed out.

Frieza just chuckled. "You flatter me."

Without another word, Goku plopped down next to the alien overlord, causing said alien to tilt his head slightly. "I brought you a towel to lay on and some popsicles." The Saiyan said. He was still embarrassed from Frieza's stunt, so his voice was noticeably quieter than usual. 

The Icejin let out a simple 'o' in response. The tyrant was almost surprised by the Saiyan's actions. It was odd for someone to be so genuinely considerate to him, especially a monkey like Goku. He could feel that fluttering in his chest start to amplify.

He snapped out of his daze when Goku handed him the beach towel. Having an idea of what to do with it, Frieza spread it out in front of him, shuffling forward to sit on it. He looked back at Goku. The ape was staring straight at him; like his coal eyes never left his body in the first place.

"I got two popsicles, one for me, and one for you," Goku said, presenting the frozen treats to Frieza, "The blue popsicle tastes like blueberries, and the white one tastes like coconuts" He informed.

The ape looked like he gained a bit of his peppy self back again, as he smiled warmly at the tyrant. Frieza swallowed his feelings. "So, which one do you want?" Goku asked.

The tyrant thought for a second, before making his decision. "The blue one," Frieza answered, trying to hold in a snort.

Of course, the emperor chose the blue popsicle. The flavor 'blueberry' sounded awfully close to a certain caretaker's name, and he just couldn't resist himself.

The Saiyan handed it over with no questions asked. And as Frieza grabbed it, in typical cliche fashion, their fingers touched for a single moment. He didn't know if he wanted to die or squeal girlishly. Probably somewhere in the middle.

Preferably closer to the dying option.

The icejin's hand wrapped around the plastic covering, deciding to ignore his feelings as of now. He watched as the Saiyan ripped away the plastic, and began noisily slurping on the popsicle.

Frieza was sure there was some sexual innuendo that could be made, but that was beneath him. He followed Goku's lead, doing exactly what he did but with more 'elegance'.

They watched as the waves collided into the sand. Words were not exchanged between them; there was no need. The two of them just basked in the presence of each other, enjoying the company of one another, even if a certain alien didn't want to admit it.

A small chuckle resonated beside him, making the emperor pause. He let out a questioning muffled noise, as the Icejin still had the popsicle in his mouth. _It was actually quite tasty, I'd have to stockpile some later,_ He thought.

"I'm surprised you're not sunburnt!" Goku exclaimed in astonishment and amusement equally.

Frieza only scoffed. He pulled the popsicle out of his mouth, resulting in an absurd 'pop' sound.  _He swore the ape gulped._ The icejin coughed inside his fist, mainly to get his mind back on track.

"Unlike you  _mammalians_ , I don't sunburn," Frieza informed.

"Wait, but how?"

The tyrant half-heartedly rolled his eyes, presenting the inside of his pale wrist to the Saiyan. Frieza was startled when Goku grabbed his hand, his first immediate thought was that the simian was about to kiss his wrist.

When Frieza was greeted by buyers, or whoever it may be, it was basic etiquette to kiss his knuckles in a sign of respect and servitude. Rarely, aliens would sometimes kiss his wrists- cultural differences between different sections of the universe, he supposed was why- But this wasn't just the usual planet buyer who Frieza suspected could be of better use to the universe as the soil under his feet.

No,  _this was Goku._

Frieza was tempted to lean away when the Saiyan pulled his hand closer to his face, but he quickly realized Goku wasn't going to  _kiss_ his wrist. He was just trying to find the tyrant's supposed scales better.

Frieza wanted to slap himself for thinking such asinine things.

"Woah!" Goku exclaimed. The pale icejin returned his attention back to the simian, who was looking like he had just found buried treasure. "You do have tiny scales! I guess you really are just a big lizard."

The tyrant froze. Before hissing out, " _excuse me?"_

"I always knew you were cold-blooded, but I didn't think it literally!"

"I am  _not_ a lizard!"

"You're as much as a lizard as I am a monkey." The Saiyan slyly teased. The aforementioned 'lizard' was red in the face, and not because he was blushing. Goku put a comforting hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing it. Frieza tried his best to stay mad and not melt into the touch. 

"You don't have to get so mad! I was just teasing Freezy-pop!" The ape tried to reassure. 

"I'm sorry,  _what did you just call me?_ "

Goku chuckled. "I thought of it while we were eating the popsicles together. Get it? Because just like a popsicle you're cold? And it came out of the freezer!" He explained.

Frieza just looked at him with blank eyes, "I'm not talking to you."

And without further notice, the Icejin turned his back to the ape.

"What! Frieza!" The Saiyan whined, trying his best to get the tyrant to acknowledge him. But all the emperor did was suck on his neglected, blueberry, popsicle. The Saiyan then collapsed beside him, looking up at him with round puppy eyes. "Frieza..." He once again whined.

The tyrant shifted his bloody gaze on him, before smirking. And without hesitance, dropped his cold popsicle on the exposed back of the Saiyan.

Goku yelped, jumping up on his toes immediately. The tyrant quivered with laughter, which only got worse when the Saiyan peeled the popsicle from his back, revealing a large, blue, rectangular-shaped stain. Goku pouted in disdain as he looked at the curled over Icejin. 

"You're evil." The Saiyan said as he sat down in front of the tyrant. Frieza's laughter began to die down, being replaced with the occasional snicker. He waved a flippant hand in the air. "Don't blame me Saiyan, my hand slipped."

That got Goku to let out a small chuckle. 

"Goku!!" Someone shouted from a distance, not sounding very pleased at all.

The small tyrant straightened his back to look over the Saiyan's shoulder. Who he saw immediately evaporated any sort of delight the emperor was previously feeling before. Every cell in his body was flooded with the familiar feeling of envy, and jealousy. And every pore seethed with a malicious hatred. Emotions he would normally feel for the monkey right in front of him. But since his anger was having to contend with the newly affectionate side of Frieza, his murderous intent shifted onto a new victim.

_Goku's wife._

Frieza thought he was about to start frothing at the mouth. It was odd how much he  _despised_ this woman when he barely knew her. But Frieza wasn't one to share, and he  _hated_ when someone had something  _he wanted._ It brought back memories of his older brother, who would just barely hold a toy out of the tyrant's grasp when he was younger. He always remembered hating it. Things haven't changed much.

Goku sighed with exasperation. Frieza wanted to tell him that he didn't have to listen to that harpy, that he could stay here  _with him_. Yet, he held such thoughts inside.

Mixing hate and love together was such a dangerous risk. If one wasn't careful enough, they could start teetering into the lines of a dangerous obsession. He might've been slightly obsessed, but he wasn't that _crazy_ yet. That didn't exactly mean that the Icejin wasn't still angry, he was just restraining himself.

The Saiyan gave an apologetic smile to Frieza. "Welp, sorry our conversation was cut short, but I can't leave Chi Chi hanging!" He said. 

The ape leaned in closer. "If I do that, she won't allow me to train for a week!" Goku quietly joked, trying his best to alleviate the sour expression on Frieza's face. But it was of no use, as the lemon-y look remained.

Goku once again sighed as the woman shouted for her husband for the second time. He picked himself off the sand and waved goodbye as he quickly walked over to his wife. 

The emperor exhaled air out his button nose, before flopping down back on the beach towel Goku had graciously brought him. He was still angry that that bat had stolen the Saiyan's attention from him, but there was nothing he could do about it without causing a scene or exposing his 'feelings'.

Yet he still watched them from a distance. And even though he couldn't hear them, it was easy to tell that they were having an argument, albeit slightly one-sided. The woman was undoubtedly angry with all her wild gesticulations, while Goku seemed to try and calm her down to no avail.

Finally, Goku's wife stormed off to who knows where leaving the Saiyan to his own devices.  _So, Vegeta's wife wasn't lying when she said they needed a break..._ Frieza thought. He didn't exactly know why, but he smirked at the revelation.

He continued watching as Goku's son came up to his father, tugging excitedly on the man's shorts. It appeared that the boy hadn't seen what had gone on only mere moments ago.

Goku looked down at his son with a smile that wasn't entirely there, before ruffling Goten's hair in a fatherly fashion. The boy clearly protested against it, trying to swat Goku's hand away, which the man did moments later. Goku's son then pointed to something, which had the Saiyan proudly presenting the blue stain on his back to his son.

The emperor than watched as they both laughed. An unwelcomed feeling of warmth spread throughout Frieza's chest that he hasn't felt in years.  _Parental warmth._

He had to rip his gaze away from the scene. He just couldn't stand to look at it. The tyrant's breathing pace started to accelerate at an alarming rate. Frieza began to take deep inhales of breath to calm himself down, repeating the phrase,  _you're fine you're fine you're fine,_ over in over in his head, until he eventually calmed himself down enough.

His breathing was still a little rough, and his mind was racing, but the emperor finally stopped freaking out. With exasperation, Frieza laid his head down in the crook of his folded arms. 

As he tried to bathe in the sun, to hopefully relax more, the tyrant began to regret his decision of coming here.

* * *

 It felt like hours had passed, that Frieza was swirling his finger in the earthen sand, trying to keep his thoughts from circling back to certain issues he didn't want to think about, but only a couple of minutes had passed in reality.

He had tried his best to relax in the rays of the sun, but it hadn't work, so now he had to find something else to help stop him from overthinking. It also didn't help that he was bored.

 He looked over at a small kiosk that rested at the divide between the beach and the rest of the private resort. Even from here he could smell the aroma of various cooked goods. His stomach grumbled in protest, making the emperor blush from the improper sound.

Nonetheless, Frieza got up from his spot, listening to the sound of his joints popping as he stretched his limbs one by one. He then sauntered over to the kiosk, the aroma getting stronger and stronger with every step he took. Luckily for him, no one was currently there except for the workers, which surprised him slightly, he would've expected Beerus to be gorging himself.

Hm, whatever, he was probably doing that somewhere else.

Frieza had no problem saddling up to one of the chairs in front of the food kiosk.

One of the workers turned around. "Hi! What can I get y-" The worker seemed to choke on their breath once they saw the galactic overlord. Frieza couldn't help but raise a brow.

"I-I'm sorry, so uh, what would you l-like?" The person sputtered. 

"Crab. As well as a drink. Anything that's alcohol will do." He blandly responded.

"O-okay."

The worker then told his request to another worker. Seeing as this whole island belonged to Bulma, Frieza shouldn't have to pay for the food being a guest, that would be completely nonsensical. And even if he did have to pay, he would just take the food anyways.

The icejin noticed something about the two employees. One was very clearly a human, while the other was some sort of floating blue creature. Were they Z fighters? Surely not, Goku's never spoken about such characters, and Frieza doesn't recall ever seeing them before.

"H-here." The human said, handing him a glass filled with some type of fizzy drink. The emperor didn't bother giving a response, instead, turning around in his seat to look at the beach. His eyes instantly caught sight of his favorite Saiyan, who seemed to be in a contest with his son against Vegeta and his own offspring. They appeared to be building castles out of the sand.

The two Saiyans seemed to have much more investment in the contest than their sons, who stood on the sidelines watching as their fathers built huge sand castles. A whole crowd had even formed, chanting for who they thought was gonna win.

Frieza unknowingly rolled his eyes in endearment as Goku kept trying to subtly knock Vegeta's castle down, which made the Prince bark a loud yell at him almost constantly. 

The two locked eyes for a moment, which quickly had Frieza looking away, sipping on his beverage as if he had never looked in Goku's direction. It went unnoticed by the Icejin how the monkey doubled his efforts.

"U-uh, so you look nice...today.." The human said. Frieza looked over at the man, baffled. 

"I'm sorry, but do you know  _who I am?_ " He asked the worker. He only realized then that this must  _indeed_ be someone that woman hired, as no Z Fighter would compliment him(besides Goku, of course).

He only chuckled at his stupid mistake, making the worker look slightly confused, and possibly scared. "My apologies, but I didn't seem to realize that you were an employee," Frieza said before the earthling could respond to his previous question.

They looked like they wanted to say something but didn't, only getting a pat on the back by their blue friend. 

The crab he asked for was laid down next to him by the blue creature, who in a peppy voice said, "Here you go, sir!" Before leaving Frieza alone. 

The crustacean was steaming, covered in golden butter. It was much smaller than the crabs he usually had, but that was to be expected from a planet with an entirely different ecosystem from the planet the emperor was supplied crabs from.

The tyrant paid little attention to the utensils beside the plate, having no problem tearing off one the legs and crunching into it. The crab wasn't too bad... But he's definitely had better.

Frieza took another sip from his beverage, vaguely aware of the person sliding up next to him. He sighed, "Hello there woman."

Bulma smirked at him good-heartedly. "Soooo, how is my brilliant plan working out so far?" She asked excitedly. The Icejin took the time to swirl the fizzy drink around in his glass, taking a quick sip before replying. 

"Hm, I suppose it's going well," He paused again, "I've caught Goku blushing." He replied. Bulma nearly squealed.

"Really!? That's great! So the plans working." The woman said, speaking more to herself than Frieza. The tyrant only hummed, taking another leg from the poor crab. Bulma cringed when he bit into it.

She looked away. "I'm not gonna ask..." 

He smirked. "I thought that was your job as a scientist? You clearly had no problem asking me questions before."

"Oh,  _hush_." 

Frieza snickered. The woman looked around for a moment before leaning in closer to the Icejin. "So, have you coughed anything up lately?" She whispered.

The galactic emperor's face harden. "No. It's... Concerning, to say the least." He responded, staring at the ground beneath his feet. His mind rapidly filled with bizarre reasons and explanations, quickly denying every one of them.

Bulma looked aside in thought, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Frieza knew the earthling was going to pop another question about his condition, but he didn't come to this kiosk just to think about his anxieties. Actually, that's the exact opposite reason why he came here.

"I couldn't help but notice you and the Prince weren't dancing together at the Tournament of Power celebration." He asked before the woman could. The alien wasn't just asking that for a distraction, no, that was only partly the reason. He was genuinely curious, Goku always said how great of the couple they are.

 _Ah, there I go again, basing generalizations on what that monkey told me,_ the tyrant thought.

"Oh," Bulma smiled, "Vegeta isn't exactly one who likes showing public affection, so he didn't want to dance with everyone around. But I made certain I got that dance once everyone went home." She explained, winking at the end.

_So that was why._

the pale alien closed his eyes, lips twitching up slightly. He understood where the Prince was coming from. To show love, was a sign of weakness. A weapon that could be used against you at any moment. Showing your love publicly was a very dangerous game and only those that were ignorant and naive enough, played. Frieza couldn't help but actually relate to the Prince.

And speak of the devil.

Vegeta walked up to them, not wasting another second to scowl at the tyrant. "Why are you talking to  _him_?" Vegeta asked his wife, spatting the word 'him' like it was bile on his tongue.

Although the question was directed at the woman, Frieza quickly intervened. "Bulma and I were just having a chat, what's so wrong with that  _Vegeta_?" He said, venomous tone doused in a sickly sweet voice.

"I wasn't talking to you!" 

An odd mix between a sneer and a smirk formed up the Icejin's complexion, delighted, and angered at the Saiyan's response. He then diverted his focus back on his meal, yet subtly watched on.

The woman got up. "I can talk to whoever I please Vegeta." She said defiantly. Vegeta curses under his breath.

"You don't understand," He grabbed her shoulder- surprisingly gently- pulling her closer to him, "We're talking about  _him_." He said firmly. It was faint, but a hint of protectiveness hid under his voice.

Bulma was about to speak up but was cut off by her husband. "So let me reiterate. Why are you talking to  _him_ , and why is he wearing  _that_? It looks like one of your bathing suits." 

The blue-haired just looked at him with round eyes, before an expression of mischief took over her entire face. " _Are you jealous?_ "

Vegeta promptly choked on air.

Frieza would have to commend the woman for her dirty little trick. She had clearly not expected Vegeta to ask any questions, so she changed the subject to have more time to think of an excuse.  _Very Clever._

The Price sputtered. "No! Why would I ever be jealous of that demon!" He quickly retorted. Bulma just smiled, pressing herself closer to the Saiyan Prince.

"It's alright Vegeta, I understand if you don't want to admit it." She cooed, smothering him like a child. He blushed, pulling her away from his person. He looked like wanted to say something but didn't. "Tch, whatever."

The couple then began to saunter off, Bulma clinging to her husband and Vegeta reluctantly allowing it.

"Just so you know, I won."

"Oh, really! Well, congratulations! How'd pull that off?"

"Trunks knocked down Kakarot's sand castle."

"That little man is in so much trouble..."

"I told him to."

The woman smacked the man's shoulder, resulting in a humored grunt from Vegeta. The man peered over his shoulder at the tyrant, who was silently watching everything. Frieza. smiled a smile only a snake could achieve. The Saiyan Prince growled, facing away once more.

Frieza stared at their backs as they continued walking away.

* * *

The tyrant had recently finished his food and learned a valuable lesson about earthen crabs. You're not supposed to eat the body. Something he found out about when he foolishly did just that.

He would keep that information in his mind for now on. The horrid taste still rested on his tongue. 

The Icejin was walking back over to his spot on the beach, planning to bathe in the sun once more, seeing as that is all he could do right now. 

"Hey! Wait! Frieza, hold up!" 

As requested, the emperor stopped, waiting patiently for Goku to catch up with him. A couple more paces and the Saiyan was standing in front of him. The sight of the man had Frieza unwillingly smile.

Maybe it was that fizzy drink he had, but he altogether didn't mind it. Or maybe he was losing his mind.

The ape had his own bright smile on display when he spoke. "Hey, do you wanna race me?" He asked excitedly. That made Frieza tilt his head. "Race?" He inquired.

Goku nodded his head vigorously. "Yeah, we'll race each other around the whole island. It won't be on feet though, we'll be swimming!" 

He thought about it.  _A competition that doesn't include beating each other into a bloody pulp does sound interesting and refreshing,_ the emperor thought.

Don't get him wrong, he did quite enjoy beating others into a 'bloody pulp', but after doing it so many times it does get admittedly... Boring.

He shrugged. "Fine, I'll play," Frieza answered. He tried to ignore how giddy the Saiyan became from hearing his agreement, and how the smirk plastered on his face grew wider.

_Damn emotions..._

"So, are there any rules?"

"Oh, yeah! You're basically allowed to do anything, just no powering up. Got it?" 

The icejin whines playfully. "Now you're just taking the fun out of it!"

Goku giggled. He guided Frieza over to the shoreline, the waves collided into the sand before retreating back to the ocean they once came from. "Okay, so, this will be our finishing point," The Saiyan says, drawing a circle in the wet sand with his foot, "Whoever can make a whole lap around the island and come back to this point first, wins." 

 He looked at the spot in the sand, and then at the rest of the beach. The very specific placement of the spot would make winning for both of the contestants harder.

"Do we have to reach this spot specifically?" Frieza asked.

"I guess not, that is..." Goku smirked, "If you're not up for the challenge." The Saiyan said cockily. Frieza gave his own competitive smirk in return, a combative flame growing in the Icejin's chest. 

 _He_ was going to win this little game of theirs, and that is resolute.

"You ready?" Goku asked, practically jumping up in down in excitement. 

"Of course-" Frieza stopped himself, looking down at the outfit he was wearing. He stretched the fabric thoughtfully,  _this outfit will hinder my performance without question. If I'm ever going to beat the ape, I'll have to rid myself of it,_ the tyrant thought.

He was slightly relieved to be finally free of this degrading piece of earthen ware. "Actually, excuse me for a moment." Frieza said. An almost disappointed 'ok' resounded from the simian.

The Icejin reached for the bow on the back of his neck, untying it with swift precision. Goku watched on with curiosity before Frieza started stripping down, in which the Saiyan made a choked sound, blushing wildly, promptly turning his head away.

The emperor had his left leg out when he heard Goku, making him look up in curiosity at the monkey. Seeing Goku refuse to look at him made Frieza giggle.

"Oh, come now, don't tell me you're getting  _shy_." He teased, "I'm practically always 'naked'." He watched with amusement as Goku sputters helplessly.  _How this outfit had quite the effect on the Saiyan... One in my benefit._

He fully expected Goku's heart to be wrapped up and gifted to him by the end of the day, then finally this whole ordeal can be over...

_But, what would happen afterward?_

He ignored that thought.

The ape still appeared to be having trouble coming up with a response, and as much as Frieza was enjoying his humiliation, he decided to take pity on him. "Though I must appreciate your simple courtesy, most of your kind would never do such a thing." He said, finally slipping out of the black swimsuit.

He smirked, "Catch."

Goku turned around in confusion, only to get hit in the face with a certain black swimsuit, starting to freak out from overwhelming embarrassment. Frieza allowed himself a quick chuckle at the sight.

"Ciao!"

Goku then heard a splash. Pulling himself out his dazed state, he quickly ripped the revealing swimsuit off his face, he only then realized the Icejin's clever trick.

"Wha- Not fair!" He whined before diving in the water himself.

* * *

Was Frieza proud of himself? Oh,  _absolutely._  His sly maneuver certainly gave him the upper hand, even if he knows it won't last long.

He wasn't leisurely swimming, but he wasn't exerting himself either. Just staying in a nice middle ground. Various fish parted as the tyrant swam past, avoiding him the best they could. He smirked at that,  _It seems they know a predator when they see one._

Even being in this ocean for as little as possibly 30 seconds, already revealed a myriad of creatures. He's never seen as many beasts roaming a planet before, it was fascinating... He wonders how much he could sell this pretty blue pearl for.

 _Hm..._ Probably not for a lot of profit. Aliens who bought planets were looking for desolate places to build cities and vacation resorts, not a _pest infestation_. Oh well, the earth's warriors wouldn't even allow him to consider the idea anyway.

And would you look at that, Goku finally caught up with Frieza, and he was  _fast_.

_Unbelievably fast._

It momentarily startled the emperor, then he suddenly grew determined and put more effort into his strokes. Yet that did little to prevent the Saiyan from passing him.

There was much more Frieza could do, but he wanted to drag out this game a little longer. He was just behind Goku, and with a couple of powerful strokes, nearly neck and neck with the man.

He could also tell that the monkey was dragging this out, even giving the tyrant a competitive side look. Frieza returned it in kind, and that familiar spark ignited between them once again.

 _Oh,_ how relieving it felt! The Icejin's been feeling nothing but lovey-dovey crap, and self-hatred when it came to the Saiyan recently. But, finally! This was new but all too familiar;  _nostalgic,_ you could call it.

_Rivalry._

_Now this game was getting serious._

Frieza's always had the advantage of power when it came to facing another, but there was another advantage, something more... _Biological._

He sneakily curled his tail around Goku's foot, throwing him down to the coral infested floor of the ocean. Of course, buoyancy stopped the simian before he could possibly collide into the sea's floor. For better or worse.

Frieza now knew he couldn't beat the Saiyan by swimming regularly, so he chose the next best thing. _Flying_. But not in the sky,  _no,_ that would make their game boringly easy to win. 

He cut through the water like a knife, the difference in speed visibly clear. Under the waves was calm- if you dismiss the scrambling fish- but the world above experienced the repercussions of flying underwater. He could practically hear the loud groans from here.

The only rule in their game was  _no powering up_ , so technically Frieza was doing nothing wrong. The tyrant wasn't surprised when he saw Goku suddenly appear behind him. The ape didn't instant transmission, instead, taking a note out of Frieza's book and flying as well.

He was coming up behind him faster, and the tyrant needed to find a way to shake him off his tail. Perhaps a _little scare_ would do. The Icejin turned over, now facing Goku while simultaneously swimming/flying. The new position only made him realize how close the Saiyan was.

Frieza smirked smugly at Goku, a warning to the man that the emperor was about to pull something again. The pale alien lifted a palm, displaying the deadly orb of energy. The Saiyan appeared a bit startled, crossing his arms over his head in natural defense, making him slow down in return. That was the perfect reaction the overlord was looking for.

He shot the energy so it wouldn't directly hit the man, only graze his right shoulder. In fact, he never planned to actually hit the Saiyan with the death ball, he didn't need to for his plan to work, but Frieza did last second out of a grudge. Call it a small punishment for making him endure such cursed feelings, and this damn disease.

While Goku was momentarily distracted, Frieza zoomed off. He took in a deep breath once he breached the air, landing clumsily on the moist sand, the tyrant genuinely surprised he actually stumbled upon the beach. The truth was he didn't know where he was going with all the adrenaline in his veins, so he just took a gamble.

Which was good, he may have a large lung capacity thanks to his species natural born gift to breathe in space, but he started to a bit get lightheaded. Wait... If he was becoming lightheaded and was able to  _breathe_ in  _space, then how was the Saiyan...?_

Ugh, whatever, that monkey was a total enigma.

A quick glance around told him that  _everything_ was soaking wet- thanks to the Saiyan and him no doubt- and moved very far away from the shoreline, but that was enough sightseeing, Goku was fast approaching.

If the giant rolls of waves told him anything.

Or maybe it was the local goddamn sea monster.

He wouldn't have time to search for the small circle in the sand, it was likely washed away, and Frieza still wouldn't look for it if it wasn't anyways. He drew a circle in the sand beside him with his tail, guaranteeing his victory.

Seconds later, Goku popped out of the water, a small mark on his shoulder from the tyrant's blast. Though there was nothing to worry about, it was such an insignificant scar that it would heal quickly. 

_But, why was he worried? Why should he even care?! Hell, it probably felt like a bee sting to the ape!_

_So why did he..._

Goku began approaching him, Frieza fixing his face into one of a smug expression. "Well, well, well, look who  _lost._ " He taunted.

The Saiyan scratched his temple in mild confusion. "Yeah... How'd you find the circle so fast?" Questioned Goku, as he stared at the faux circle.

The white Icejin shrugged, chuckling slightly. "Luck, I assume." He lied.

Frieza found that bit ironic, he's been having anything  _but_ luck for the past couple of weeks.

He watched as the ape stared harder at the mark in the sand, examining it. His body tensed up, hoping that the Saiyan would be dumb enough to not realize his devious trick.

Goku suddenly smiled as he looked back up at the Icejin, but something was off... His smile might've looked innocent, but there was a strange twinkle in his eyes that could only mean trouble.

"Are you sure this is the right circle?" He asked. It wouldn't take a genius to know that the ape had likely figured out Frieza's palter at this point, but he was determined to keep this facade up. Perhaps get the monkey to doubt himself.

The emperor sneered. "What are you talking about? Of course this is the circle! I don't recall you making _multiple_." Haughtily said Frieza.

Goku's smile only widened. "Last time I checked, I left your swimsuit near the circle and I don't see any swimsuit here." 

If Frieza had any color on him, all of it would've drain at that moment.

_Of course, I forgot about the stupid swimsuit!_

Well, there was certainly no way to sway Goku into believing his lies anymore with that critical piece of information. Now Frieza's easy win didn't seem so easy anymore.

He waited with bated breath for the Saiyan to do anything, but he didn't.

Then Goku put two fingers up to his forehead.

Every twitchy muscle in Frieza's body immediately shot out to try and grab the Saiyan, but all he caught was air. The tyrant believed he had lost at that moment, but a surge of arrogance and pride refused to believe the thought.

The Icejin swiveled his head over his shoulder, hoping to catch sight of the monkey... And he did. Goku didn't actually teleport directly to the mark, only halfway, because that's where everyone was.

Ah, he forgot that nifty trick doesn't allow the user to teleport randomly, Goku had to lock onto an energy signal first.

Though, Frieza found it odd that the Saiyan wasn't _flying_ or _running_ to the marker, but more like cantering....as if he was waiting for the emperor to catch up with him.

Frieza had momentarily forgotten this was just a silly game.

But a silly game he intended to win nonetheless.

With his incredible speed, it was easy for the emperor to catch up with a jogging Goku. Besides the ape now, Goku throws him a cocky smirk, accumulating his own speed to Frieza's faster pace.

In the distance laid a black, crumpled, lump, and next to it, a faint trace of a circle. It's form likely faded away from the ocean's restless waves.

Which each fast approaching footstep they took, the shorter the distance to victory. Frieza wrapped his tail around the Saiyan's ankle, hoping to trip the man. The oath began to fall backward, and either deliberately or instinctually, Goku grabbed Frieza's shoulder. 

They both fell into a heap on the warm sand. The emperor writhed, hoping to untangle himself from the uncomfortable situation. Being so close to the Saiyan was messing with all his nerves and all he wanted to do was escape, so he could just win!

Both of them tried to escape from each other's grasp, but thanks to Frieza being the smaller and more nimble out of the two of them, his freedom was guaranteed with a bit of agonizing struggling.

Back on his feet, and out of the constricting grasp of the Saiyan, Frieza didn't hesitate to make a break for the circle. He was only a mere feet from  _victory!_ Oh, how he could taste it on his tongue!

A strong tug on his tail had him falling to the ground. Like most things Frieza wishes to accomplish, it is always foiled by Son Goku, like right now. The tyrant could hear the heavy footsteps of the man as he raced by Frieza's momentarily prone form, the sound driving the Icejin to push himself off the ground, and wrap a hand around Goku's ankle, pulling him down similarly.

The emperor dashed for the makeshift finish line, now only  _inches_ away from his grasps. Suddenly, the Saiyan materialized out of the air, making the overlord growl in annoyance. Perhaps the action was a little overdramatic and unnecessary, but they both jumped for circle.

Their grunts resonated as they landed on the digging-into-your-skin sand. The two aliens looked up in anticipation to see who won... Then both shared a look of confusion and mild disappointment.

It was a tie.

Frieza scoffed as he picked himself up, dusting off the tiny sand particles that stuck to his scales. "How disappointing, all of that effort for a measly _tie,_ hmfp." 

Goku sat up, front half covered with sand, some even residing in his- nearly dried- wet mop of black hair. He laid his hands on his knees. "Yeah, Kinda... But it was fun though, right?"

The tyrant smirked at the renewed feeling of rivalry that was slowly dwindling away, no matter how much he wanted it to stay. "Yes." Came his simple reply.

Frieza walked over to his discarded bathing suit, sighing at the soggy material, nonetheless, he put it on, seeing as he was nearly dry himself and the blazing sun was sure to dry it sooner or later.

He felt eyes on his back. The Icejin turned his head around, noticing as the Saiyan was looking at him, or more accurately,  _his lower half._  He blushed in embarrassment not entirely sure how to feel... Should he feel relieved, since the plan was working? Disgust, since a monkey, his hated enemy, was looking at him in such a provocative way? Or...  _Lust_ , since the man that caught his eye, was clearly showing fancy in him?

His tail subconsciously curled around his leg in discomfort, drawing Goku's eyes to it. Frieza coughed into his fist, onyx eyes shifting up to meet his own red. "Hasn't anyone told you it's rude to stare?" The emperor teased, but there was a defensive bite under his tone.

Goku blushed from being caught in the act. He rubbed his neck shamefully. "Ah, sorry..." He said apologetically, before turning his back to give the Icejin privacy.

Frieza kept his eyes on the Saiyan to see if he would look back for just a peek, but he didn't. Many times the emperor would be oogled at, which he would demand to stop, only to have the alien occasionally peek at him,  _like he didn't notice._ That situation often ended up with him killing the pervert out of annoyance, so the Saiyan's gesture was... Highly appreciated, even though Frieza didn't voice it.

"So, why did Bulma want you to see her today?" Goku asked in an attempt to clear up the awkward air, and possibly get some answers...

Though the tyrant could see through the curious question disguised to hide Goku's true intent. He hummed dismissively, tying the bow. "I met her at the party and found her vast intellect intriguing. We discussed various subjects and grew a small bond you could say. So, she wanted me to see her, asking if I would like to be invited to her beach party." He seamlessly lied.

He watched as Goku nodded, seeming to accept it. Frieza grinned widely at that.

_After all, the best lies are rooted in the truth._

The ape suddenly started to walk away, without even turning back to face the tyrant. The pale alien sputtered, surprised by this out of character move. "Where are you going?!" The desperation that leaked into his voice shamed the proud emperor.

Goku turned around, smiling at Frieza. "I'm gonna go clean off since..." He gestured at his sand covered body, "Well, I think you get it!" He giggled, rubbing his neck.

And with a quick wave, the Saiyan was off.

Frieza turned away from the receding sight of Goku, shivering slightly.

He didn't exactly know why, but the image of seeing someone that was usually so jolly, give him a purely  _plastic_ smile, just felt... Strange.

Maybe it was the blaring red sign that the Saiyan was  _faking something- lying_ to the one and only Lord Frieza.

Only Frieza was allowed _to do that_.

Or maybe it was just the simple fact that it was unnerving.

Or, perhaps,  _it was just Goku._

* * *

Frieza was one who got bored easily if that wasn't obvious already. Throughout his life, the tyrant was positively spoiled with things to do, so, laying on the beach for the millionth time today was unbearably dull.

No matter how nice the sun might've felt on his back, it just wasn't enough for the emperor. Every bone in his body was itching to do _something,_ cause gods forbid if he has another thought about Goku.

Well, at least his swimsuit was dry.

He's been wondering what made the Saiyan be so off...  _Was it him?_

_Did my reaction to finding out the man was looking at me, spook him off? Did I set back the plan? How much longer will I be damned with this cursed flower? What was the Saiyan doing currently? I haven't seen him for a while... Ghk! I shouldn't be actively looking for the ape! But I do wish he was here... Maybe I would be less bored... Ah! What am I thinking!_

Frieza clutched his head, inhaling a deep breath before his eyes opened lazily. The Icejin turned his head around to face the looming buildings behind him, then to the rest of the occupants on the beach.

No one would care if he explored the rest of the resort... Besides, he needed it, he doesn't know how much longer he can keep this up without going insane.

The emperor picked himself up from the colorful beach towel Goku had given him, stealthily making his way to the end of the beach and towards the start of the pavement.

A small peek behind him showed that no one had paid attention, all too busy with their own things.

He then slipped into the shadows.

* * *

The pavement burned under his feet as he trekked through the unseen part of the island, hand folded behind his back in typical, authoritative, manner- even if his outfit suggested a more 'submissive' nature.

He had no idea how far he had strayed from the beach. The bulbous, white, buildings all looked the same, giving the emperor no sense of direction. But, he didn't mind... The 'Being lost' effective of it all made him feel serene.

Mind-numbing in a way.

 _How long it's been since I felt this calm_ , he inhaled the cool air, _it was refreshing..._

The tyrant has yet to encounter another being, assuming that the woman had laid off most of her employees for today.

 _Good_ , that means he could have a relaxing walk without being interrupted by any earthling pests. The icejin stopped for a moment, the sight of purple catching his eyes. He turned his attention towards the color, heart momentarily stopping.

_Purple flowers._

He lifted a pale hand to his chest, resting it on his heart subconsciously. Seconds passed as the tyrant just stared wide-eyed at the floral terrors. It was likely his imagination, but he swore they started to distort into something unrecognizable, curling towards him, _beckoning_.

The tyrant's wits returned to him again and with a single blink, the purple flowers were back to their normal appearance, sitting delicately in the sunshine.

Scolding his nonsensical, over-reactive, imagination for conjuring up such an unrealistic, childish, image. Mild curiosity overtook him, as he walked closer to the flowers, crouching down to their level.

Without hesitation, Frieza reached down to touch one of their stems, only to get a sharp pain his finger. Hissing quietly, the Icejin brought his hand closer to his body, almost in a protective manner. He turned his hand over to examine his unfortunate finger.

Purple blood dribbled down his forefinger slowly. 

_The damn thing had pricked him._

He smirked at the purple flower, appreciating its character. Beautiful and elegant, but  _deadly._ The emperor dismissively flicked his hand to try and get the blood off his finger, despite its ineffectiveness.

Suddenly, an odd memory flooded his brain, one of when he was a child... He remembers getting pricked by one of his father's favorite flowers, then promptly scolded for crying about it. It was his father's favorite because of how utterly _rare_ it was. No one else in the known cosmos had one.

He got it from a stray traveler of the stars. Apparently, it was called a 'rose', and it was from a remote, undeveloped planet with little civilization...

 

Oh.

 

_Oh._

He gently petted one of the purple roses petals. It felt like he's done this before. "So this is where you came from," Frieza whispered, smirk still spread across his face. It was ridiculous, but the emperor felt a strange connection towards the newly familiar flower.

The Icejin stood up, taking his hand away from the rose's soft petals. This was by far the most interesting thing he has encountered during his mundane walk, but alas, they have to part ways. Frieza still wanted to continue his journey after all.

 He walked away from the purple roses reluctantly, continuing onwards on the gray pavement. The view of non-stop white buildings returned, but this time, the path was getting wider and less alternate routes were available to the tyrant. It was like the path was leading somewhere.

He happily let the path guide him, his interest certainly piqued. Then the path suddenly stopped and expanded into an entirely different part of the resort. He really couldn't believe it, had he actually gotten to the other side of the island?

Frieza squinted his eyes, trying to confirm if this really _was_ the other side of the resort, and lo and behold, the sea stared right back at him.

The emperor chuckled in disbelief. His mindless wondering had indeed gotten him all the way to the other side of the island, though, he couldn't help but notice how different this side was. Instead of a beach, this area was comprised entirely of concrete. The only visible land came from the neatly, groomed, vegetation sprinkled around.

There were tables, chairs, umbrellas, etc. Things one would usually have for gatherings and parties. He spotted a pool as well... His eyes might have been deceiving him, but the tyrant saw a silhouette of a person sitting by the pool's edge.

He internally groaned, tall cutting the air with annoyance. He wanted to avoid interacting with any earthlings at all costs on his little journey, so his short adventure was now  _ruined_ thanks to this random whelp.

Frieza nearly turned around to begin his arduous journey back to the beach, when a distinct detail of the being caught his eye.

_He could spot that hair from a mile away._

A feeling of warmth spread throughout his chest, and he  _hated_ it, but there was nothing he could do to combat against it. Reluctantly, the emperor allowed a playful smirk to flit across his face. He valiantly ignored how his step had an unbearable spring in it, as he strutted towards the Saiyan. The Icejin either didn't notice it or denied to acknowledge it, but the tip of his tail wagged happily, which wasn't exactly unusual when seeing the Saiyan... But the odd thing was that his hips started swaying temptingly.

Frieza stood behind Goku. He was positive the man could sense him in both ways of the word, but the ape seemed to not acknowledge the emperor. He was sure the Saiyan was playing up something, he would never ignore him... Would he?

_Frieza didn't like that thought._

After a minute, the Icejin sat down next to Goku. The man still paid no attention to him, his mesmerizing obsidian eyes looking off somewhere else. The emperor's smirk tilted downwards and inside he was scowling. 

Ever since he was just a small child, the tyrant always desired to be in the spotlight, having others give him attention. He obviously hated it when they didn't, but it was nothing compared to the _insufferable_ feeling of not having the Saiyan's eyes on him.

But his smirk still stayed on. Frieza leaned in a little more to the Saiyan, the biogem on his shoulder bumping into Goku's bare arm. The man seemed to shiver at the contact and Frieza's smirk widened at the reaction. 

"Hello there Saiyan." The Icejin purred. Goku chuckled awkwardly, finally forced to acknowledge Frieza's presence. 

"Heh... Hi." Goku responded, rubbing his neck in an awkward fashion. With his attention gained, Frieza leaned away from the Saiyan, the sensation of the gem on skin contact was getting a bit too much the Icejin.

The emperor took a look at the Saiyan. His smooth skin had flecks of sand all over it like the monkey just tried to rub off all the sand with a towel. His iconic, wild, hair, was clumped together, making it more of a mess then it was before.

No wonder the man was acting so weird back on the beach,  _he was lying to him._

The tip of Frieza's tail chaotically twitched with withheld anger, but he kept the smirk on his face. He looked back up at the man. "I thought you took a shower." 

Goku tensed up. Maybe it was because they knew each other for so long, but the Saiyan started to sense the bubbling anger behind the tyrant's playful facade. He chuckled nervously. "Well, you see-"

"Ah, ah, ah," Frieza tsked, waving a finger in front of the Saiyan's face like a scolding mother. He brought his finger away from the mildly confused Saiyan, ruby eyes staring harshly into onyx. "Don't you remember what you said to me back on the ship? That, from now on you 'wanted answers'? Well, if I'm expected not to  _lie_ , then I fully expect the same from  _you, Saiyan._ "

Did Frieza adhere to the Saiyan's wishes? No, if anything, that little incident just taught him to be smarter with his lies. But he found it funny how the tables had turned, instead of him being frozen and the ape demanding answers, it was the complete opposite.

Goku sputtered for a moment, before sighing, realizing any attempts to escape would be futile. "Look, I just needed to go somewhere to think..." He answered.

"Oh my! A  _Saiyan_ thinking? Truly revolutionary." 

They both shared a bit of a snicker at that, Goku rolling his eyes playfully before they became downcast once again. Frieza stared at the Saiyan for a moment, it was clear that whatever this was about was bothering him, and that only feed into the Icejin's curiosity more. 

"So, what was it that you were thinking about, hm?" Frieza asked curiously. Goku sighed again, rubbing his temples. "... Look, I just don't want to t-"

"Oh, whatever it is I frankly won't care about, so just tell me!" He eagerly exclaimed, he then leaned in like a cobra about to strike its prey, "I promise not to tell anyone else if that's what you're worried about." The tyrant purred.

The cornered prey looked around desperately for an escape, only to realize how pointless it was, succumbing to its inevitable doom.

"You..." The Saiyan whispered.

The Icejin tilted his head in genuine confusion. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear what-"

"You, alright!" The Saiyan exploded, making the Icejin jump. "Your body, a-and everything! I just can't get it out of my head! I try to think about anything else, but I just always circle back to you i-in that bathing suit! Sometimes I just can't help but stare, b-but I shouldn't! I have a wife and kids! I shouldn't be thinking about these things, especially about you! I-I just..." Goku was flushed with red, a mixture of embarrassment and rage.

"Goku."

The Saiyan turned his head to face the emperor, their eyes locking. Time seemed to slow as they looked into each other's eyes. The bloody red eyes resembling a precious ruby of a ruthless galactic emperor clashing into the warming onyx of a sympathetic warrior. They started leaning in towards one another, intentionally or not.

Fireworks might as well be happening in Frieza's mind. It was finally happening, he could finally be free! Everything can finally go back to normal! Oh, how he would have to give that woman a large reward for her help! And once this is over with, he can erase this moment from his memory, and never acknowledge it ever again. Just another trial he had to pass.

But, deep down... There was a repressed emotion that wasn't just happy about being free from a rare illness, and it was fluttering happily as they got closer and closer.

Frieza was about to close his eyes when the Saiyan exhaled a large amount of air and leaned back. The tyrant let out a questioning noise, the dopamine flooding into his brain suddenly stopping.

"I'm... Sorry, but I can't Frieza..." Goku said, breaking himself free from the trance of ruby eyes. He promptly stood up, walking quickly away, leaving the dazed emperor all by himself. Watching him walk away Frieza  _wanted_ to say something, an insult, a plead, but he was in far too much shock.

_I was just rejected... No one's ever done that before._

An unwelcome flood of emotions hit him like a truck. The tyrant swiveled his head to glare at his reflection in the pool's water, heaving heated breath. He gripped his arms like a vice, pinpricks of blood bedding up under his dark nails. Angry heaving turned into coughing, coughing turned into painful hacking. He was surprised when blood started to dribble down his chin.

Minutes of unending hacking finally stopped. His mouth was filled with blood, some had even escaped into his hands and down his chin, droplets of purple already staining the chlorine water. He was afraid to pull his hands off his mouth and reveal the horror he had coughed up, because it certainly didn't feel like _petals_.

Reminding himself that he was a ruthless emperor with many who feared him, so it was _pathetic_ to be scared. Keeping that in mind, he started to pull his shaky hands off his mouth, mentally preparing himself for whatever he was about to see.

He quickly wiped the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand, before hesitantly looking at his palm.

He froze.

_A purple rose._

That's when the emperor started to realize something. Frieza began to laugh hysterically, dropping the blood-stained rose in the water, cupping his face in his hands, not caring about the blood.

_He thought he escaped hell when he was brought back to life._

_Oh, how wrong he was._

_This hell was only beginning._


	8. Chapter 8

A week had passed and Frieza had been religiously trying to avoid Goku at all costs, which was surprisingly easy, as the ape seemed to be doing the same thing.

Some time had passed since, what Frieza is dubbing, 'The Incident', but it was still clearly burned into his mind.

He remembers after his little mental breakdown near the pool, that he had ripped the innocent bathing suit to shreds, watching as a slight breeze carried it away. The emperor was far too gone to care about the damning evidence he had left in the pool, but apparently still had enough sanity to clean himself up in the nearby ocean.

Frieza still regretted that decision, but the woman had promised to have an employee clean it up.

Speaking of the woman... Before the tyrant left, he had sneakily advised for her to keep Kikono's scouter as a way of communication, as Goku would no longer suffice. He remembers how clearly a question shone in her aqua eyes, but he didn't further elaborate.

He didn't want to.

And he still doesn't, but their little 'appointment' was scheduled today, seeing as the Prince was out training. Hopefully, that meant Goku was too.

The emperor yawned, the glaring green of the projection getting to his eyes. All he's been doing was work, nonstop, for a week. It was the only way to distract himself from the millions of questions buzzing in his head, but it did certainly take a toll on him. The upside was he was finally finishing overdue work, stuff he skipped when the...  _Saiyan_ was around.

 _Gods_ , even thinking about Goku gave him a roaring headache.

A knock resounded on the metal door. Frieza closed the projection, the green light subsiding from the room and returning to the scouter fitted on the side of Frieza's head. 

"Come in." He lazily called. Beriblu stepped in the lavished room without hesitation, watching as her Lord tiredly looked over his shoulder, the dark bags under his eyes noticeable to her keen motherly senses.

"You've been overworking again," The blue alien blatantly commented, floating closer to her Lord's position on the couch, "You should know doing that won't help you with your anxieties, My Lord."

Frieza scowled. "Do you have something to report to me or  _not_." He hissed, not in the mood for one of her lectures.

He didn't need them, he wasn't a naive child anymore.

Beriblu sighed. "The scouter you requested has arrived, Lord Frieza." 

The emperor yawned once again, stretching his arms over his head. "Wonderful," The Icejin took his scouter off his ear, laying it on the plush couch. He stood up, striding over to the metallic door, not waiting for his caretaker to catch up to him, "And you're positive this is the right one?"

"Yes, My Lord." 

Frieza hummed.

As they passed through the door, he shot a glance at where the small spaceship would have been resting on the shelf, covered by another artifact.

His frown deepened.

The hallways of the ship were cold and barren, as always. Few soldiers were walking around, most taking full advantage of having a small break and sleeping to their heart's content, but those who were, bowed on spot when they saw Frieza pass by.

The emperor felt nothing by their actions, it was so common it practically never affected him. When he was younger, such _pride_ would blossom in his chest.

He let out a bitter laugh.

If his younger self could see him right now, he would scoff in disgust.

A sudden idea sprouted in the tyrant's brain. He stopped, looking down at his hand... And then to a nearby soldier. The alien was still bowing and even if she couldn't see him, she could sense his merciless stare on the side of her skull. She started to sweat profusely.

Frieza could feel Beriblu idle silently behind him, not questioning his reason for stopping. 

Currently, the Icejin's been losing his deadly touch. He tried to kill the earth woman, but couldn't, he tried to kill Goku in his sleep, but couldn't.

 _Oh, he wished he had_.

So he wanted to perform a little... 'Test'.

Frieza walked over to the alien, noticing how she had fish-like features, mainly blue scales, but that was an unimportant detail. What was important, was that she had unfortunately just been selected for the tyrant's sudden little test.

He stood in front of her bowing figure, and while Frieza was smaller than most of his soldiers, his presence  _loomed_ over her. The emperor pointed a finger at the alien, purple ki on the tip. Wild eyes then looked up at him with fear.

"Please! I don't want-"

The alien fell to the ground, body slumping in an awkward angle and green blood staining the grey walls. Her plead silenced by the obvious hole in her skull.

Frieza hummed a pleased note, _Well, that's a pleasant result,_ the tyrant thought. He shifted his ruby eyes down to his hand once again. It seemed like he was still able to kill others without feeling a thing... The only exception being Goku and his friends apparently.

He scowled.

Beriblu came up behind him. "You do realize we have a shortage of soldiers, Lord Frieza." She inputted. The Icejin rolled his eyes.

"It was a simple test." He hissed back, effectively, and swiftly, ending the conversation.

The emperor began walking once again, not worried about the 'mess' he had left. He knew, sooner or later, that a janitor would be alerted and the body would be cleaned up. Without missing a beat, Beriblu followed closely behind him.

Singular, narrow, hallways, seamlessly changed into multiple, twisting, routes as they got closer to the main part of the ship. The tyrant stopped, two large, metallic, doors, stood in front of him, the entrance into the Central Room.

The Central Room was the room Frieza often stayed in to do work, give commands, survey over a planet-conquering, etc.

Practically anything Frieza did was in there.

Yet, he's been doing more and more things in the comfort of his room lately. He blamed the metal strain from all... 'Everything', to be the reason why.

The imposing doors immediately opened for the two, as one did not require a code to get in. Kikono and a random soldier were the only ones present in the room, the soldier carrying a case that contained the new scouter.

"Ah, My Lord! You're here!" Kikono exclaimed, clasping his hands together. The emperor didn't respond to his subordinate, instead, walking steadily over to the case. The soldier carrying the case was a hefty man and much larger than Frieza, but even his hands trembled as the tyrant got closer.

The Icejin laid a pale hand on top of the black case, the texture of small bumps rubbing into his skin. Kikono slid up awkwardly behind the tyrant. "Your requested scouter has finally arrived..."

Frieza scowled. "I can  _see_ that."

"Ah..."

The yellow alien took a step back from his Lord, beads of sweat starting to roll down the scientist's face. The tyrant turned his attention back to the case in the soldier's hands. He pops open the locks and with one motion, swiftly opens the briefcase. Inside is a customized scouter, tinted blue.

Frieza took it out of it's safe cushioning, playing around with it to see if it actually worked and wasn't just a dud. 

"So, uh, does this mean I'll get my scouter back, Lord Frieza?" 

The emperor rolled his eyes in exasperation at Kikono's repetitive question. He glared down at the scientist, the alien cowering at his harsh stare.

" _Yes._ Now stop  _whining_ about it, or else I'll rip out your tongue just to shut you up." 

Kikono stared at him with wide doe-ish eyes, before nodding vigorously. Frieza just sighed.

All he's heard for this entire week was Kikono's incessant whining. Like how 'There's important information on there, ' and, 'I require my scouter, when will I get it back, " and yadda yadda.

The emperor was getting tired of it, besides, what was the big problem? Important information was stored in a larger network, someone with authority could easily retrieve any missing data.

And if the woman had broken his scientist's scouter... He wouldn't mind. He was getting tired of the man by every day and if Kikono thought all his hard work was gone forever, then Frieza would enjoy watching his turmoil.

 The emperor placed the scouter back in its case, turning around to face his two trusted subordinates. The 'click' from the case closing resonating behind him.

 "Beriblu," He started, "Send the command; Set a course for Earth."

The blue alien nodded, writing out the command on her scouter. 

It wasn't long before the spaceship shifted, going through time and space itself. Frieza turned to look out the large, ovular, window, millions of stars and planets converging into one to form a flashing mess of colors.

The tyrant's ruby eyes shifted downwards, a poisoning thought entering his mind, a question he has thought of a million times since that 'incident', one he's tried to cast from his mind entirely.

_Why didn't he kiss me?_

* * *

The earthen grass felt foreign and awkward between his three-toed feet. His ship usually landed in barren terrain, but this time it landed in a field, a spot closer to the Corporation that woman called 'home'.

 The emperor turned around, his two subordinates huddled in the mouth of the ship. He spoke, "You both know the usual protocol, yes?"

Kikono piped up excitedly, like a loyal dog looking forward to its owner's loving praise. "Don't fly off without you, anyone seen stepping outside the ship without permission will be detained or killed, if there is little contact between us and you don't return in two weeks... We can.. U-uh-"

"Presume me dead, yes." Frieza finished for the alien, who was too afraid to finish the sentence in fear he might face his Lord's untimely anger.

The emperor never liked that part of the protocol, but it was something he was required to instill. And would you know, that _that_ segment was only required when landing on Earth? 

 _Such a privilege,_ he bitterly thought.

His grip around the blue scouter momentarily tightened. The tyrant turned his back to Kikono and Beriblu.

"I will be back soon." Was his cold and short farewell, before he shot into the sky. The wind wiped pass the emperor, so cold it almost stung.

He landed on a platform moments later, the exact same spot he landed on to met Bulma for their first 'appointment'. _My, It's only been a week since that happened, yet it feels like I've been doing this for much longer..._ The tyrant thought curiously.

He opened the glass-pane doors without hesitance, the room being slightly colder than the outside.

"Hi there." 

His eyes snapped over to a brick red couch, that laid to the side of the room. The woman sat there, albeit a bit startled. The emperor then noticed how her hair was pulled back into a bun, no doubt a difficult feat considering her short cut.

"Jeez! Do you know how freaky it is when someone just stands there then their eyes just snap to you without moving!" She rubbed her temple, "Seriously, not cool." She added under her breath.

Bulma noticed how the tyrant was focusing his attention on her hair. She reached a hand up towards her bun, bouncing it in her palm. "So you noticed my hair, huh? I decided I'd mix things up a bit, you like it?" Vegeta's wife asked enthusiastically.

Frieza immediately frowns, eyes half-lidded in exasperation. He sighed, "I don't understand why those with hair have the need to style It. If It serves no purpose, why do it? It's pointless and trivial." 

The woman's enthusiasm vanished, an unimpressed expression painting her face. That clearly wasn't the response she expected nor wanted.

She waved a hand in the air. "Whatever, If you had hair, you'd understand." She stood up from her spot on the couch, wiping the nonexistence dust from her jeans, muttering a silent, "Kami... Why did even try fishing a compliment from you?"

Frieza's tail started to twitch impatiently, wanting to get this _done_ and _over_ _with_ already. "Are we just gonna stay here all day like a couple of vegetables, or are we going to do _this_?" He hissed.

Bulma just groaned. "Ugh! Stop being so impatient! We are  _literally_ about to go down to the lab!" She then squinted suspiciously at him, "Also was that an insult to my husband, or just a weird saying?"

"Both."

The woman sighed. "Alright, let's go." 

* * *

 The cold feeling of the lab greeted him once again, uncomfortable but bearable at least. The tyrant seated himself down on the examination table, chilling steel nipping at his skin.

The woman sat down in the chair she used last time, Frieza also observed how she had brought a notebook this time. She childishly spun her way over to him, flipping through roughed up notes simultaneously.

"So, is that my payment?" The woman asked, pointing to the scouter Frieza had in his grip. His eyes widened a tad, gaze shifting to the device. He had nearly forgotten about it.

"You could say in a way." Was the emperor's response. Bulma groaned, rolling her azure eyes. 

"But you already gave me one to test with, I seriously don't need another."

The Icejin shook his head, smirking at the earthling's misunderstanding. "This Isn't the regular old scouters my soldiers use, I had this one specifically customized for you. I even had It tinted blue."

Frieza watched as her eyes started to gleam with excitement as he handed the alien technology over to her. The woman placed down her notebook and pen on the table next to Frieza, beginning to fiddle with the scouter in her lap, touching every little crevasse she could find with her grubby fingers.

The galactic tyrant watched this curious scene play out until the blue-haired woman's actions became a bit too reckless for his taste. His face scrunched up. "Do try not to break it."

Bulma looked up him curiously. "What? is it like super expensive or something?" 

He put his chin In his palm, suave voice dripping with pure honey. "Oh, no. It practically costs nothing, I just don't want to waste my precious time on some _simple_ earthling again." He purred.

Bulma looked thoroughly unimpressed by the tyrant's bitter remark. She rubs her temples, "Why did I ever think you would be doing something considerate out of your own generosity..." She grumbled sourly.

The woman then put her hands on her hip, sitting up straight in her chair. "Well, guess what? You're going to have to 'waste your precious time' on  _this_ 'simple earthling' for the next couple of weeks." She shot back, making air quotes with her fingers for extra effect.

That reminder immediately dropped Frieza's saccharine attitude. He couldn't help but groan inwardly and outwardly. The thought that he had to rely on this woman- someone _weaker_ and _far below_ him- for this stupid disease, still upset him.

"I've realized." The Icejin said.

Bulma then mischievously smirked at him, an expression that had the tyrant tilting his head in question, while also preparing himself for pure agony.

The woman dramatically put a hand on her chest, an over-exaggerated look of misery painting her face. "How positively  _agonizing!_ " Bulma spoke in a poor rendition of Frieza's own proper and unique accent. The sound physically hurting the tyrant's ears.

He sneered distastefully. "That was a  _horrible_ impression." 

Vegeta's wife shrugged nonchalantly, dropping her performance. She laid back in her chair, smirk still present. "Yeah, I'll give you that, but you have to admit I got the attitude spot on." She winked.

He groaned.

The woman just giggled silently in the background. The swish of his tail swaying like the rhythm of a lullaby as the emperor was yet again consumed in his thoughts.

Memories of his childhood... especially of his older brother.

Frieza hummed thoughtfully. "You're like the sister I never had."

That took Bulma by surprised, but it didn't take long for her eyes to fill up with coddling appreciation. "Awe... Really? That's so sweet Frieza!"

The tyrant smirked at her. "You really shouldn't feel so complimented, in layman's term that basically means I want to  _violently_ rip your throat out." 

Her previous expression dropped immediately, replaced by one of mild fear. The hint of fear made the vicious ruler wag his tail in sadistic glee.

The earthen woman awkwardly coughed into her hand, clapping her hands together. A semi-fake smile plastered onto her face, as she picked up the notebook and pen.

"Alright, so let's get started!"

Any satisfaction the tyrant felt instantly vanished.

"Um, I wrote everything down here from our first session so, I have all that information." She said, her words a bit unsteady and clunky. The woman was clearly a bit shaken up by the gruesome threat, and while a spark of enjoyment shot through Frieza, it wasn't nearly the same as his previous satisfaction.

The blue-haired woman crossed her legs, holding the pen in her grip. She took the pose of a therapist.

That thought made the tyrant sneer.

She mumbled to herself, her tone too quiet for Frieza to pick up before a loud 'Aha' resounded through the room. Bulma leaned forward in her chair, eyes shining with eagerness. "So, Frieza, how many times do you cough up these petals in a day?" She asked.

The emperor sighed internally. His least favorite part of the appointment has finally begun. He drummed white his fingers on his equally pale arm, thinking about the question. In his mind, the tyrant let out a bitter snicker,  _if only she knew I wasn't hacking up those horrid petals anymore..._ He thought, but something told him she would be finding out very soon.

The emperor changed his train of thought, his eyes then widened. "Only once... Perhaps twice?" He spoke airily, taken aback by the sudden revelation.

"That's a good thing right?" Bulma piped in, speedily writing down his answer. Frieza nodded, he put a hand over his mouth thoughtfully. "Yes, in the myths the disease rapidly progresses, a ticking bomb for its victim. The petals are like... Warnings, but it's when one starts to cough up fully formed flowers, that is when the true horror starts..."

He had to pause. In the background, he could hear the woman's pen scratch the paper as it marked it with words. The emperor lost himself in his own thoughts again, the sudden realization of the timer set above his head and in his heart scared him, but what got to him was how  _little_ he had left of it.

The Icejin inhaled deeply before releasing a sigh, trying to force himself into not being scared. His voice gained a bitter taste. "The more flowers you cough up regularly, the more peril you are in. Eventually, the disease will weaken you until you are drained of all life, then you will die a painful death looking like a gardener's dream." He hissed.

A pause.

"Dear Kami... What kind of fairy tales did you grow up with as a kid! No wonder you're so messed up." Bulma said. Frieza glared daggers into her, not very amused by her little insult. She just smiled apologetically.

He rubbed his temples. "I just liked to read when I was younger." The Icejin replied simply. The woman looked astonished at that fact. "Really?" She asked in bewilderment.

He nodded.

A cunning idea suddenly popped into the tyrant's head. Perhaps if he directed her attention away from the 'Hanahaki Disease' and the Saiyan, he could go throughout this session without having to answer all those invasive questions he hated! She was already distracted as it is, the task should be fairly easy.

 "I couldn't help but notice the vast variety of creatures that inhabit the Earth, you wouldn't happen to have any books on them?" He asked, his endearing smile a facade. He wasn't entirely lying, his interest was piqued, but his main goal was to just skip this entire session right now, not indulge in some reading.

Bulma nodded. "Of course! If you want I can hand them to you after our appointment is done." 

Frieza's smile transformed into a frown before it appeared once on his face a second later. He knitted his hands together and placed them under his chin, leaning forward. His smile purposefully warm and inviting while he gazed at the woman like she was a mouse cornered into a wall.

"Why couldn't you go get them now?" The sly tyrant purred. The woman then smiled at him with a shit-eating grin. "Sorry, Frieza, but you're not getting out of this."

The Icejin's act dropped immediately, he groaned, the action similar to that of a child not being able to trick his parents into getting him something he desperately wanted Bulma shook her head good-heartedly. "Nice try, but you were way too obvious."

Frieza had to give the earthling that, that wasn't one of his more clever attempts. The woman fiddled the pen in her hand for a moment, toe-tapping the hard, steel, ground as she thought of another annoying question. 

The tyrant could only hope it wasn't something about Goku.

"Do you know what flower the petals are from?" She queried. Frieza scoffed, but he answered the question nonetheless. "Purple roses."

"Really? I think I have some planted around the resort." She piped in before quickly writing the emperor's answer in her notebook.

 _I'm well aware,_ He thought bitterly, the imagery of the distorted flowers, blood, and the myriad feelings he encountered that day flashed across his mind. He couldn't help but think back to that... That  _Saiyan_ and the words that were muttered from his lips, words that have been playing repeatedly over and over in the tyrant's head. His only escape being the comfort of work.

Bulma looked up from her notebook, satisfied with the short note she had written down, noticing the villain's more than usual miffed expression. The man's been nothing but rude and snobby, generally a pain in the ass, yet she couldn't help but let her more compassionate motherly side take over, as she felt empathy for the tyrant.

"You know... You seemed pretty... ' _Odd_ ' when the party was over and you came and talked to me, " The woman said, grabbing the attention of Frieza. He shifted his gaze to her, watching as her eyebrows knitted together in worry...

_No,_

_Pity._

"Did... Did something happen?" She finished. He didn't want to answer her, he truly didn't, yet he couldn't stand another moment of that  _expression_. He didn't need pity, he didn't want pity, he was Lord Frieza! A tyrant! A ruler! To be given pity is a sign of weakness, a sign that someone believes they are above you.

So, if telling her means getting that emotion off her face, he would do It. The Icejin looked off to the side, not wanting to look at her. "The Saiyan and I almost kissed."

Bulma exploded with excitement. "You kissed!?" She exclaimed happily, nearly hopping out of her chair.

Frieza growled. "Are you deaf?! I said 'almost' you ninny!" He shouted. That deflated the woman's buoyant attitude, as she calmed down. The emperor now gained a permanent sneer on his face, Vegeta's wife patiently waiting for an explanation. He cursed under his breath.

"He... Rejected me at the last moment."

"Oh..." Bulma said softly, with renewed pity in her eyes, she was ready to give her condolences, but an overly-emotional Frieza didn't give her the chance.

And without warning, every thought he's been trying to avoid flooded out of his mouth.

"I don't understand! He said he liked my body, he finds me attractive! Why didn't he kiss me! My life would've been so much easier if he had! So why _didn't_ he? Does he only like my body? Does he not enjoy my face? Is it my personality? Is that why he didn't kiss me! Or was it that  _harpy,_ there is no way he can actually love that woman! I'm much better! He should like me! Gah... If he just kissed me this could all be over!" 

Frieza suddenly shifted his deadly gaze towards his spectator. " _You_ ,"He hissed, "This is all your fault! If I had never listened to you I wouldn't be feeling... These  _things_! I wouldn't be thinking these thoughts! I could have avoided that whole situation! This is all _your fault_!"

Any empathy Bulma felt was gone as she listened to the emperor's absurd accusation. She felt offended, scoffing as she crossed her arms. "It wasn't my fault he didn't want to kiss  _you_!"

A pregnant pause.

Bulma then realized her mistake. She put her hands up, shaking them. "Wait... no, Frieza that's not what I m-"

She was suddenly pinned up against the cold wall, clutching wildly at the hand that held her throat. The tyrant glared at the woman, any sense of humanity gone from him. She had said the _wrong_ thing to him at the _wrong_ time, and that was _her_ mistake. He would feel no sympathy if he killed her, yes it would be a major loss to him, but perhaps he could skin by with her notes.

Her blue hair and eyes reminded him of the scales of that solider he killed.

But as Frieza held her there, with her life in his hands, watching as she helplessly clawed at his hand... He couldn't do it. It was so _easy_ , her weak body would be of no use to protect her from him crushing her windpipe, but he just  _couldn't_.

With a growl, he released the poor woman, letting her land harshly on the ground, her coughs filling the room. The tyrant faced away from her, glaring holes into the wall in front of him. An image of Goku flashed across his mind, making him clutch his fists in pure rage.

Passing Bulma's crumpled form, he quickly snatched Kikono's scouter which had been conveniently laying on a desk, before making his way to the door that leads into the lab.

He spared a cold glance at the woman, her eyes bright with fear and terror. "I still expect those books to be brought to me, earthling," He looked away, "Enjoy the scouter."

He left without another word.

Yet a thought flashed across both their minds, one impatient and one fearful.

_How much longer can I do this?_

* * *

Frieza was greeted by soldiers as he entered the ship, all bowing respectfully. Not long after, Kikono greeted him. "Welcome back, My Lord! I-" Before the yellow alien could finish, the tyrant chucked his scouter at him. The alien hopped around for a bit before unsteadily catching it in his clammy hands.

"My scouter! You brought it back, Sire!... Uh, Sire?"

Kikono watched as his Lord passed him, clearly not caring about what he said. 

Frieza rubbed his temples tiredly, barely acknowledging the small patter of feet as Kikono tried to catch up with his long strides. The emperor entered the Central room without a care, prepared to drown himself in work again, seeing as today was by far his most hectic of the week.

He thought back to the woman... he could only hope she wouldn't tell anyone what had conspired.

Then everything would be ruined.

The Icejin was prepared to greet his other subordinate, Beriblu, but an unwelcome sight greeted him.

"Goku.." He muttered under his breath.

There he stood, the man Frieza wished to never see again, yet yearned for all together. 

Goku.

He wasn't expecting to see him again after their 'Incident', hell he was expecting the Saiyan- even hoping- to never want to see him again. 

The tyrant could only stare in pure surprise, unknowingly making the already awkward Goku even more uncomfortable. Frieza cleared his thoughts, coughing into his fist. "...What are you doing here?" He asked.

Beriblu piped in from the side, smug voice ever present. "Didn't Kikono tell you, Lord Frieza? You have a visitor." 

"I _can see that_." He hissed under his breath. He assumed Beriblu heard him since her smirk grew wider.

He glanced behind him, watching a heaving Kikono, then looked back at Goku. He crossed his hands behind his back in typical fashion. "Let's talk somewhere private." The tyrant said.

Goku's eyes widened slightly, before nodding and softly muttering an 'ok'.

The tyrant then turned around, not waiting for the Saiyan to catch up with him as he hastily walks towards his room. An awkward silence settled between them as they walked the hallways, the only conversation they shared was the small breaths they exchanged in the air.

Frieza knew it would be this uncomfortable if they ever met again, that's just expected, but he didn't expect it to be _this_ unbearable.

He just hopes it won't be like this the entire time.

Making to his chambers, the emperor punches in a few codes before the metallic door slide open. This time, the Icejin didn't have to worry about the Saiyan finding out about the keychain, he learned his lesson the first time and had hidden it behind another item just in case.

He immediately took a seat on the couch, Goku doing the same. The scouter Frieza had left was still there, sitting daintily between the large gap the two aliens had left between them. He used his tail to scoop it up, carelessly placing it on the ground.

The silence that the galactic tyrant would usually find relaxing, was _suffocating_. He had to do something to stop this, or he might as well go insane.

"...Why are you here monkey?" Frieza said, the first to speak up. His voice sounded clammy and uncomfortable in the silent room. It was obvious to tell why Goku was here, but it was all the emperor could think of to ask.

"Oh... I wanna talk about what happened... Um, you know, last week." The Saiyan responded. The same level of tenseness and uncertainty in his voice as Frieza's.

 _Of course you do,_ the tyrant cursed mentally.

"Ah, yes... _That_." He said. 

Another pause of silence. 

The emperor watched as different systems of stars and planets zoomed past his window. He felt uncomfortable in the room, trying his best to quiet his deafening breathing. Or, at least, that's what it sounded like to him.

A verbal gulp came from beside him. "I'm sorry about what almost happened... And what I said, it was just all a big mistake on my part."

A metaphorical knife stabbed itself in Frieza's side at the word 'mistake'.

_He hated it._

He composed his bubbling feelings the best he could, responding to the Saiyan's statement. "You're not the only one to blame, I was a bit tipsy and not in the right of mind."

_Lie._

"Oh, " Goku smiled a bit awkwardly, "How much do you remember? Do you... Remember what I said?" He asked, twiddling with his thumbs.

"No. As I said, I was a bit drunk, so I barely remember anything."

_Lie._

_The whole thing might as well be scorched into my very memory._

"Oh, ok, good." 

Frieza couldn't help but feel the unrelenting emotional knife dig deeper as he heard the visible relief in Goku's voice. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, but it did. 

Oh, and how a part of him almost wanted to scream at the Saiyan, desperately ask him what he meant by those words he spoke by the poolside... but he resisted the urge.

"So, um, what were you doing at Bulma's?" The simian asked. 

Frieza perked up at that. Goku must have sensed his confusion because he continued. "I came back from training at Lord Beerus's place with Vegeta and sensed your energy on earth, and couldn't help but notice how you were off in Capsule Corp's direction," His expression was still a bit tense, but he still smirked at him, "You and Bulma aren't sneaking off behind Vegeta's back are you?"

The Icejin's eyes nearly bulged out.

"No! Of course not! Why would I ever fancy  _that_?!" He retorted, surprised and slightly offended at what the Saiyan just implied.

Goku snickered. "Just making sure... You know, for Vegeta." 

The tyrant got the odd sense that that was a lie.

Another silent pause, but this one much was less suffocating, Frieza actually feeling comfortable to bask in it. "So... Was that all you came to talk about?" He asked. He refused to believe that he was disappointed.

Goku crossed his arms and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling as his bottom lip stuck out. "Yeah... For now, " The tyrant tilted his head in question, as the Saiyan smirked at him again, "I might come back later in the day to hang out, maybe fight! We haven't done that in a while..."

Goku paused, and Frieza watched as the Saiyan's expression hardened, as if debating over something in his head.

"I've missed talking to you."

His cold heart thudded against his ribcage, and If it was physically possible to do without dying, he would've ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped on it just to make the sickly sweet feeling stop.

The emperor didn't know how to respond at first, mulling over possible things to say, and he knew he had to hurry if the nervous expression on the Saiyan's face told him anything, and like  _hell,_ he was gonna deal with that awkward situation again. Though another side of him didn't want to make the ape feel like he said the wrong thing.

Finally, he decided on the self-centered response, "Who wouldn't?"

At least it got a chuckle out of Goku.

"Well, I guess I should be going, " The Saiyan stood up from the lavish couch, putting two fingers up to his forehead. He smiled, "See you soon, Freezy-pop." 

Before the emperor could protest against the ridiculous nickname, Goku vanished. A moment of silence, as the tyrant just sat there taking in the atmosphere, which had inexplicably grown colder since Goku left.

He let out an exhausted sigh. His mind was buzzing with questions he'd probably never get answers to. That ape confuses him beyond belief, a total enigma to his mind. 

...Frieza hated this. He didn't want to think about these _things_ , he didn't want to feel these _things_! Yet he did. _It was pure agony_.

A knock on his door. 

He had a feeling who it was. "Come in!" He yelled.

The tyrant's door opened, greeting him with the sight of Beriblu. He didn't protest when she levitated towards him, nor when she sat down, he just simply put his head in her lap. In response, the aging alien rubbed the biogem on his head soothingly.

"How long were you at the door." He said, the question more of a demand. His caretaker hummed, before answering. "Since the beginning."

"Ah."

She continued her motherly action, before chuckling. "I'm surprised you're not protesting against this."

Frieza growled. "Would you prefer me to drown my anxieties in alcohol and work again?" He said. Beriblu chuckled again, "No, not particularly."

A silent pause, the continuous relaxing motion causing the emperor's eyelids to slowly droop down.

"You must really like that Saiyan." Beriblu suddenly purred, disrupting her Lord's moment of peace. Frieza rolled his eyes, sneering. "I'm plagued with a rare disease that causes a  _literal flower_  to grow inside me, what does  _that_ tell you?"

She just chuckled again, her massaging movements becoming more rhythmic and paced. It caused the tyrant to think, think about how Beriblu used to do this when he got stressed or was having trouble falling asleep when he was younger.

Then he thought about Goku.

"Beriblu," He began, a hum coming from above him, "Why do I have to feel? Why couldn't I just be born without any emotion? It would make my life _much_ easier." 

He could feel the rhythmic movement on his head slow for a moment as his nanny thought before it went back to their usual pace. "I understand how you feel, sometimes I've wished the same thing, but what's the point in living if you can't feel," She paused, "I know these soft emotions are new to you, and you find them tedious and annoying, but I'm afraid you can't go through life without experiencing them, Frieza."

The tyrant didn't like that answer, not at all. "But I want it _to go away_." He childishly complained. Beriblu just shushed him, just like she used to when he was a young child.

"I know." She cooed softly.

Frieza curled up his fists, gathering clumps of his caretaker's skirt. "Mom, I-" 

Beriblu patted his head. "Alright, I think you should get some sleep My Lord, you're not being your usual arrogant self, which I find _very_ _concerning_." She teased.

The Icejin groaned, but his subordinate had a point, he's been exhausted from overworking, overthinking, and just plain stress. He needed a break, and if he was going to see the Saiyan again today, he certainly needed to gain his energy back.

Hell, he really had to be out of it mentally if he made the old slip up of calling Beriblu his 'mom'.

That only happened when he was younger.

And it was even weirder that he barely cared at the moment. _Oh_ , he can see it now, waking up and scolding himself, something that's become a normal occurrence since he started feeling things for Goku.

He lifted his head up off of his much smaller, and weaker, subordinate, allowing for her to get up and off of the couch. The Icejin yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. He wasted no time, walking over to his nest of assorted, silky, fabrics, each one beckoning him into their lulling embrace. 

He heard the sound of his door open, turning his head around to see his caretaker about to leave. "Wait," He called out, the order stopping Beriblu in her tracks, "I must thank you for your... 'Assistance' in allaying my worried mind."

The old alien rolled her eyes in good nature, knowing that her Lord was simply avoiding saying 'thank you' directly by covering the phrase up with fancy words. "Of course, Lord Frieza." She responded simply.

The tyrant grunted in response, signifying to Beriblu that she was free to leave, and she did. With the room all to himself now, Frieza didn't hesitate to unceremoniously plop down on his nest, writhing and shifting underneath the blankets in his quest to become comfortable.

The pale alien finally reached his goal, snuggled up in a sea of smooth, precious, fabrics. Soon, the temptation of heavenly rest got to him, his eyelids heavy and tired.

Before he was completely submerged in the land of sleep, a quick thought about how long he had left crossed his mind. 

Frieza fell asleep, not to the comfort of the soft blankets, but to the soothing property of the tiny spaceship he decided to grab at the last second. He truly did hate how all his worries vanished as he held the gift closely to his chest, but he was much too tired to berate himself about it.

He'd do that when he wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all (heh, y'all) are all so kind It just makes me want to cry anajsnsnnssn
> 
> I know I don't reply to them, but I have been reading all your comments, and it seems like you all REALLY enjoyed the last chapter, which makes me very happy(it was super fun to write)
> 
> Right now I'm debating if I should start writing longer chapters. I think I might leave really long chapters for pivotal points in the story and just keep doing split chapters. But in general, chapters are going to be longer, I think


	9. Chapter 9

_He overlooked the city below him, forms of pink and white buildings surrounding him. It seemed like everything was either a light shade of pink or white, even the sky above shared the same color scheme. A cool breeze then brushed past his form, the atmosphere of this place was wearily calming._

Why was he on Acros? But... Acros didn't look or feel like this.

_The tyrant looked around and found that the balcony he was currently standing on was surrounded by purple roses. A swift, sudden, sense of dread overcame him, as he stared at their twisted forms._

Just like the resort...

_He tore his eyes away from the putrid sight, deciding to focus on other things. The Icejin than noticed how he was in his first form, rather than his final, as well as wearing the old armor his soldiers adorned._

How peculiar...  _He thought._

_Then he examined the rest of his body. Not only was he wearing the old armor, but he was covered in silk, purple silk. It had an odd design on it, a serpentine creature with what he could only describe as a 'crown' fawning its entire head._

_The feeling of something dangling in his palm caught the tyrant's attention, his eyes widening as he stared at it. The tiny spaceship Goku gave him._

_Warmth then enveloped his entire back, a face settling itself in the crook of his neck without permission. "You still looking at that old thing?" The voice spoke, clearly humored._

_Frieza was startled by the voice, turning around to face Goku. Or, he looked like Goku, except he was wearing the same type of armor Frieza was._

_The Icejin couldn't help but blush at the close proximity, as they exchanged body heat with each other._

The hell...?

_He didn't respond to this Goku, and the Saiyan didn't wait for him too, instead, cupping the palm with the keychain. Warmth spread throughout the tyrant for many different reasons at that moment._

_He was also very confused but didn't do anything, the feeling of the Saiyan calming him to the point of numbness. He wanted to push him off, do something remotely aggravating, but he just didn't feel like it..._

_He... Liked this feeling._

_Goku squeezed his hand lovingly, before staring into the tyrannical ruler's blood-red eyes. Frieza still had no idea what the actual_ hell  _was going on, and it showed on his face._

_Goku snorted, wrapping a different arm from the one holding his hand, around the small Icejin's waist. He nuzzled his face further into the emperor's neck, a giddy smile covering his squared, but somehow, soft face. "What's wrong Freezy-pop?"_

_That one Frieza reacted to easily, confused expression swiftly swapping for an unimpressed one._

_That only made the mystery Goku giggle more._

_Suddenly, the Saiyan removed his face from the emperor's neck, staring out into the distance. Frieza did the same, the hand on his waist feeling discomforting but... Nice, at the same time?_

Such an odd feeling...

_The Saiyan removed his hand that was cupping Frieza's, to scratch his iconic Saiyan hair. "Wow... It's still really hard to believe we rule over all this, huh?"_

I'm sorry, what?

_"But..." The simian continued, looking down with an expression that made the Icejin look like a scared cat, but almost made him keen over, altogether, "I wouldn't have it any other way."_

_Then he leaned down and-_

The tyrant's eyes shot wide open, heavy breath filling up the quiet room. His heart felt like it was hammering against his chest in an attempt to break free, his sweaty palms clutching the poor spacecraft he held in his hands. Part of him hoped it wasn't crushed, another did.

But opening up his tense hand revealed a pristine keychain, albeit slightly shiny. The Icejin's face crumpled up in disgust at the unsanitary sight. Grabbing a random part of a blanket, his encased the item in the soft fabric, thoroughly cleaning the spaceship.

Believing he did good enough of an impromptu cleanup job, Frieza released the keychain from its fluffy prison, now, nice and clean. Then he proceeded to wipe his hands on the silky blankets, not really caring what he was doing to them, as he sat up.

The tyrant silently sat there as he thought, thought about the sugar-coated-dream- nightmare? Eh, whatever, he just thought about it, and how... Strange it was, the only thing that felt normal was the flowers.

He was ashamed to admit it, but he's been having dreams like those for a while. They only seemed to amp up when he got the 'Hanahaki Disease'. 

Any sort of dream where he killed Goku practically didn't exist anymore, the only thing that came close was him arguing with the Saiyan in his dreams.

 _How lovely..._  The tyrant sarcastically thought, dragging a hand down his face in exasperation, ignoring the small blush that coated it. Then he thought about everything that had happened before he fell asleep.

A loud groan. 

He can't  _wait_ to deal with Beriblu's teasing about  _that one._ Also, apparently, that Saiyan was supposed to be coming here later in the day... 

Frieza's eyes shot open,  _what time is it...?_

The Icejin cursed under his breath, as he threw the blankets off his pale body, and scurried for the scouter he left on the floor near his couch. Knowing his recent luck, Goku was probably already here or left from boredom.

But as he searched all around he just couldn't find,  _where the hell is it?!_ Frieza screamed inside his brain, before realizing something...

_She couldn't have..._

_..._

_Oh my dear gods, she did, didn't she?_

He was going to _tear_ Beriblu apart. You'd think being her  _boss_ would make the blue alien think about asking him first before putting away his  _things_  in random places!

Just because he accidentally called her 'mom', does not entitle her to such things.

...

_That is a 'mom' thing, right?_

Frieza shook his head, rubbing his temples vigorously, _that is something I seriously should not be mulling over right now!_

"Lord Frieza."

The pale alien snapped his head up to face the exact person he was so furious at, who was levitating calmly in the doorway. The tyrant hissed, "Have you forgotten how to  _knock?"_

Beriblu smiled at him smugly. "I did," She answered. Frieza glared at her, the corner of his lip twitching, as the blue alien smiled wider, but then looked away, "Once."

Before Frieza could scold her actions, she cut him off. "Anyways, your suitor is here, My Lord, and is ready for your date."

It took the tyrant a minute to understand what she meant, but once he did a flame of heat spread across his face before he growled viciously at his subordinate. " _I will have you thrown into the depths of space._ " He hissed.

Beriblu just shrugged, clearly not threatened as she replied with a condescending, "Whatever you wish, My Lord."

Frieza was about to shout at her, but he didn't have any time for her games, apparently, the Saiyan was already here and waiting.

He didn't know why he had such a need to greet him, but could only assume it was those fluffy little  _feelings_ at play once again.  He straightened up his back, posture fitting of a ruler such as he.

"Well, I'm sure I've kept the ape waiting long enough as it is, I suppose I should go greet him," Frieza said, a silent order for Beriblu to lead him to wherever the Saiyan might be in his ship currently. The woman nodded, not wasting another second to lead her Lord out into the hall.

Frieza followed, but not before picking up the keychain with his tail and plopping the small object on a shelf, cleverly positioning it behind another memento.

When the emperor got out into the hall, his trusty minion was waiting for him beside the door. Walking behind the tyrant, Beriblu directed him towards the Central Room, which was where he exactly expected Goku to be.

What he didn't expect was the commotion coming from the room. Reaching the entrance, the large metal doors swung open automatically, revealing a truly 'interesting' sight.

Goku was trying his best to climb up into Frieza's hover pod, yet failing miserably, while poor Kikono was pleading with the Saiyan to stop his actions before something bad happens; Mainly Frieza walking in.

But it was already too late. 

The Icejin just stood there in pure bewilderment, eyes wide, while Beriblu just stood behind him, smirking in unrestrained amusement. Finally, Frieza gained his wits back, "What is  _going_ on?" He hissed.

Kikono and Goku snapped their heads over to the peeved tyrant, whose tail was flicking with annoyance. The small, yellow, alien looked like he was about to faint, eyes wide with horror, while Goku was glad to finally see the tiny emperor.

"M-my L-lord..."

"Hey!"

They both said at the same time, but Goku's much louder, boisterous, voice canceled out Kikono's meeker one. Frieza didn't know who to respond to first, but he might as well start with the Saiyan who was steadily approaching him.

Goku stopped in front of the emperor, who just sighed. "Hello, monkey." He said tiredly. Goku just smiled at him, the smile reminding Frieza of the Goku in his dream, but this felt more... Genuine.

Probably because this was real.

The bright smile from the Saiyan started getting to the tyrant. And even though he held a renewed grudge against him, he was not able to resist its contagious nature. Frieza's lip twitched up ever so slightly. 

 _Damn you..._  He cursed. 

"Oh!" Goku suddenly exclaimed, causing the small emperor to tilt his head questioningly. The Saiyan then walked over to a corner of the room, picking up two very hefty looking books, though it was clearly nothing compared to the ape's tremendous strength. 

"Bulma told me to bring these to you." The Saiyan said. Frieza eyes widened ever so slightly, surprised that the woman actually followed through with his request after what happened... 

_Oh._

The tyrant then waited with bated breath for the Saiyan to say  _anything_ about bruises, marks, scratchy breathing. Perhaps that woman told Vegeta, who then told Goku, but with the way the simian was acting, it seemed like he didn't know anything.

 _Did the woman not tell anyone?_ He thought.

Frieza than shifted his attention to the books held in Goku's hands, both were thick with paper, which was wrinkled from use.

The emperor crossed his hands behind his back in a proper fashion, "Well, I suppose you've been waiting long enough," He flicked his tail in the direction of the two doors, "Come now." The tyrant beckoned.

The two left the Central Room, leaving Frieza's two subordinates alone. Kikono blinked owlishly, "So... Is he not mad about the hover-pod-thing?"

Beriblu floated pass the alien scientist, cupping her hands near her face in a swooning action. "My Lord could never be mad at his  _sweet, lovable, Goku._ " She mocked.

Kikono just looked at her in pure confusion.

* * *

 Frieza looked down at the two large books he had laid on the silky blankets. Both were large encyclopedias, one was a highly detailed book on all the known animals on earth, while the other one was about myths and legends associated with certain creatures.

Truly fascinating.

He felt the blankets shift as Goku sat down beside him, and the tyrant couldn't help but notice the space the Saiyan had left between them. That's certainly odd, usually, the ape just  _loves_ invading Frieza's personal space.

Clearly, the incident at the beach party still affected the two aliens in a magnitude of ways. Goku seemed to be afraid to get close to Frieza physically...

The tyrant reluctantly missed the close contact.

"You're, uh, not gonna try and read through them, right?" Goku asked, catching Frieza's attention, "Cause uh..."

The tyrant couldn't help but smirk. "I know, you wish to spar," He opened up the more factual book, "But don't worry your  _little_ ,  _adorable_ ,  _Saiyan_  head off, I'm just simply skimming the pages."

Goku smiled crookedly in an awkward fashion, a small hint of blush on his cheeks as he scratched his head. "Adorable?" He asked, in an attempt to tease the emperor, albeit poorly due to his own embarrassment.

Frieza's eyes widened to the size of plates, face becoming stark red. He sputtered for a moment, trying to come up with a decent excuse to cover his slip up. "It was just a tease! I didn't mean it  _literally_!" He shouted defensively.

The tyrant then came up with a devilish Idea, smirking internally.

 _Let's see how_ you _like it._

He put on his best cutesy expression, fluttering his proverbial eyelashes at the man. The sight only further flustered the Saiyan.

"Though, you would just  _love_  it if I did, hm?" The Icejin practically purred, referring to his last comment. Now it was Goku's turn to turn bright red.

Frieza didn't resist the positively villainous smirk that spread across his pale face, thoroughly enjoying the ape's embarrassment, but he wasn't going to stop there. _No_ , he decided he still had to pay back that Saiyan for the amount of misery he's put him through lately.

Mainly 'The Incident'.

But he'll work on  _that_ later, after all, the tyrant did indeed want to look through the books at the moment... Also, he still needed time to fully convince himself on the idea.

His revenge would be so  _satisfying,_ but with the new,  _obnoxious_ , feelings Frieza now harbored for the Saiyan, his new task would no doubt be harder.

He would likely end up tapping out of his goal in flustering the Saiyan from pure embarrassment.

Not only that, but part of him felt disgusted for even thinking about being even  _remotely_  seductive to Goku.

Speaking of the ape, Goku was currently laughing awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "Oh, come on Frieza! Why do you have to do that to me!" The Saiyan whined playfully.

_That was a simple question._

"Because I like torturing you."

 His lip started to twitch up as he heard the Saiyan snort beside him. Goku then turned his head to look at him, blush died down, face now accompanied with a small smile. "You sure do, don't you?" 

The small upwards twitch of Frieza's dark lips finally turned Into a playful smirk, albeit against his consent. The two just stared at each other, then Frieza realized what was happening.

The tyrant growled under his breath, quickly tearing his eyes away from the man, who realized what was happening a moment later. The two both looked away from each other in shame.

Frieza couldn't help but think of the poolside.

They both sat there in silence before the tyrant opened up an encyclopedia, the sound of the pages crinkling as he did so. He started flipping through random pages, trying to consume himself in random glimpses of information.

"Oh, cool! Was that an alligator?" 

The small Icejin nearly jumped out of his skin at the loud exclamation. Usually, he would find the action slightly endearing, but now he couldn't help but look at the Saiyan in a mixture of annoyance and confusion. 

 _Can he not sense the atmosphere?_ The emperor hissed in his mind. The ape looked at him expectantly, like he was supposed to throw a witty quip in response, but he didn't, he just stared at Goku quizzically.

Frieza then returned his gaze back towards the book, not noticing how Goku's expression dampened in response, and If the distance between them physically wasn't enough, an emotional one slowly began to grow.

Unbeknownst to them or not.

The emperor looked down at the page he had randomly flipped to, surprised by the sight of the creature in his dream, the one on the silk he was wearing.

He puffed his bottom lip out in interest as he read the name of this creature.

> "King Cobra"

Though, the scientific name was 'Ophiophagus hannah'.

He hummed in thought,  _interesting._

"So... What're you thinking about?" Goku asked hesitantly, afraid he might annoy the tiny space lizard. Frieza just sighed exasperatingly but answered his question anyway. "I saw this in one of my dreams."

"Oh, neat! What was the dream about?"

A small blush coated the tyrant's cheeks, as his eyes widened. He then waved a flippant hand in the air, "Nothing you need to worry about." He said in the hope Goku might leave him alone, and try not to prod further.

 It didn't satisfy the Saiyan, and although he whined childishly, he didn't push it further, which was a nice surprise for the intergalactic tyrant.

He reluctantly thanked Goku under his breath, which the man either didn't hear or decided not to address.

But Goku did ask another question. "So, have you got a planet picked out for us to spar on?" 

Frieza couldn't help but notice how hard the Saiyan was trying to restrain his eagerness, which somehow began to thaw the tyrant's icy cold demeanor. Against his will, he smirked, rolling his eyes in endearment. 

"You Saiyans... Always so eager to fight," The tyrant than shook his head, "But the answer is no, I do not have a planet picked out." He said.

Truthfully, Frieza was too tired and didn't even bother trying to find one before he promptly passed out. Though why would he try? At that time, he didn't even know if Goku was serious about wanting to spar again, but then again, he should've guessed knowing the ape.

The Saiyan's eyes lit up. "Can I pick one?" He asked excitedly. The tyrant thought for a moment before responding. "I suppose... But I'll have to supervise you."

"Why can't I pick one on my own?" Goku said, his tone whiny and childish.

Frieza sneered half-heartedly. He raised his tail up towards the Saiyan's face, who stared at the appendage curiously. "Because  _you_ ," He flicked Goku on the nose, startling the ape before continuing, "Don't know anything about basic planetary knowledge, or any of the various information one uses to identify such things as a planet's climate, inhabitants, etc."

"Also, I _doubt_ you can figure out how to use my ship's advanced technology." The Icejin finished. He knows Goku can whine all he wants, but his solid reasoning just can't be argued with.

He watched as the Saiyan crossed his arms, bottom lip sticking out as the man tried to come up with a retort. Frieza knew it was all show, that Goku had already accepted his answer in his mind. He never really knew why the ape does all these various bits around him, but he does know it makes him smile, even when he tries his best not.

 "Alright, yeah, I get it," Goku said, a grin spreading across his face, "Can we go pick one out now?"

The Icejin looked down at the book that was resting on the silky blankets, still opened up to the page with the cobra. He did want to stay here and look through it, But... He glanced over at Goku, and if the Saiyan still had a tail, it would no doubt be wagging wildly.

He sighed, reluctantly closing the book. "Fine." Was his exasperated answer. Goku fist pumped the air, not wasting another second to jump to his feet, Frieza doing the same.

His reasoning for this decision? Simple, he could always come back and look through the books on his own time without an obnoxious Saiyan around. Also, this way he could forward his plan of revenge against Goku, as he intends to hit him _very hard_ once they begin to fight.

... And perhaps 'fluster' him a bit.

He was still debating on that one.

So yes, he chose this decision out of careful reasoning, and  _not_ because he couldn't resist the need to satisfy _his object of affection_! If you could even call Goku that!

That's just a primal feeling he has no intent to stoop so low too, even with these cursed feelings and disease. He still has some dignity left.

At least that's what he told himself.

Frieza heard the mechanical sound of his door open, the noise pulling him back into reality. He snapped his head over to see the ape about to walk out into the bleak, grey, halls. The Icejin made an absurd sound, quickly rushing over to stop Goku.

"What do you think you're  _doing_!" He hissed. Goku just looked at him weirdly, scratching his head.

"... Going into the hall... To choose a planet?"

Frieza just looked at him, thoroughly unimpressed, before massaging the bridge of his nose before explaining. "You can't just go running off with all the interwoven and confusing corridors! Besides, you're not wearing anything to suggest you're apart of my force, which will no doubt raise suspicion and  _that'll_  just be a big mess I'll have to clean up,  _which I'm certainly not in the mood for_ ," He took a breath, "So just follow me, and everything will be fine."

With that last sentence escaping from his mouth, the tyrant childishly stomped into the corridor, pouting ever so slightly in annoyance. Goku followed after him, walking comfortably beside the small alien ruler. Neither of them noticed it, but the distance they put between themselves in Frieza's room, shortened, arms close enough they could bump into each other given the right circumstance.

It almost felt like nothing happened at the poolside, that they nearly didn't kiss.

Almost.

In the back of Frieza's mind curled venomous thoughts and lonely visages, things he was trying to hold back for the time being. The tyrant wanted to get some kind of revenge on the Saiyan, yes, and would gladly embrace any sort of burning hatred for Goku, but the things in the back of his mind weren't targeted at the ape, it was at himself.

His doubts, insecurities, things one as prideful as he should never feel. 

_They were all weak emotions he didn't need._

The stuff he spilled to the woman came to from that place, which had only been harder to contain since the pool incident.

That's why Frieza was determined to punch the Saiyan as hard as he could once they started fighting. He knows taking his frustration out on the man causing him so much misery will make him feel better, even if only for a while.

And though it was something he really  _really_ doesn't want to do, he decides he might as well try his hand at embarrassing the Saiyan, just for petty payback.

"You need to give me more credit, Frieza!" Goku said, tone light and playful, drawing the tyrant's attention to him. 

"Yes, and I'll give credit when it's due." The tyrant responded, his tone patronizing and matter-of-factly, if not a bit smug.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" The Saiyan pouted, while the emperor chuckled behind his hand. Goku smirked in return.

They both continued walking, Frieza noticing the light sprinkle of soldiers suddenly appearing in the halls, of course, all of them immediately bowed. They all also looked a bit shaken, no doubt a rumor spread about that innocent soldier he killed earlier today.

He couldn't help but smirk in sadistic glee at their fear, all afraid they might be the next target. The emperor than felt Goku lean down to whisper in his ear, "Why are they all bowing...? It's kinda weird." Said the man.

Frieza felt a tingle run down his spine, trying his best to lean away from the man just like the last time this happened. He couldn't help but curse Goku for being so casual with all his soldiers no doubt watching.  

Hissing under his breath, he spoke with a harsh tone, "Because they're my soldiers, you  _dolt._ " The tyrant responded, unknowingly pouting with his cheeks puffed up in annoyance. 

Goku knows he was supposed to be offended by the insult, but he just couldn't help but notice how cute the Icejin's expression was. He always thought the space lizard looked cute, but in a puppy or kitten way, not like the way he's recently been feeling...

Frieza, after not hearing a response looked up at the ape, noticing how he seemed to be thinking about something. 

 _He looks exactly like he did at the poolside_.

The tyrant shook his head, searching his entire mind for something else to think about, then he remembered what he saw in the Central Room.

"So, would you like to explain why you were trying to climb into my hover pod?" The pale emperor asked, trying his best to be quiet, but he might as well be yelling the question with how silent it was.

This was maybe the only time Frieza wished his soldiers to be ignoring him.

Goku's eyes widened, not expecting to be addressed. He looked down at the Icejin, before registering what the tiny emperor said. "Oh!," His loud voice practically shook the halls, "Well... I kinda got bored waiting for you, so I tried finding something to do. Most of the time that little yellow guy would shoo me away from stuff, but then I saw your hover pod and well... you saw what happened." He prattled.

 Frieza was only partially listening to the ape's story, focusing on more  _important_ things, that being how he started to notice soldiers quickly taking peeks at them from their bowing positions, some even  _daring_ to chuckle quietly.

With the ape here, he wouldn't be able to kill them, not unless he wanted to start a huge scene, which he was frankly too tired to deal with. But a part of him did whisper to just kill in cold blood, allowing the Saiyan to watch the horror unfold, to prove to  _himself_ that these weak emotions of enamor wouldn't hold him back, that he was still the ruthless tyrant he always was.

But that would help nothing but his own ego, which he wouldn't mind if he wasn't in the situation he was in now. The emperor couldn't convince the woman to do the surgery on him, he  _refused_ to die, he couldn't kill Goku no matter how much he wanted to...

His only option was to try and convince the Saiyan to... 'Like' him... Back.

He wanted to puke at the thought.

Clearly, he couldn't do that if he upsets the Saiyan's moral compass, so, killing soldiers while Goku was still here was not an option.

What _was_   _an_  option though...

The tyrant glared at his soldiers maliciously, a very serious promise of death in his red eyes. That seemed to work, as the soldiers stilled like a rock. Suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder. "Frieza...?" Goku asked.

The tyrant shrugged the simian's large, warm, hand off his shoulder. "What?" He said, a hint of annoyance slipping into the emperor's voice.

The Saiyan rubbed the back of his neck, still keeping eye contact with the mildly peeved Icejin. "You kinda spaced out." Goku pointed out. 

Frieza's eye widened in a lazy fashion. "Ah, I did, my apologies." 

The pale alien watched as the Saiyan threw his hands behind his head in a care-free manner. "Nah, you're good! Don't worry about it, my story wasn't really interesting." He said, blatantly.

The tyrant knew the Saiyan wasn't trying to tug at any semblance of pity Frieza had, but a part of him couldn't help but feel... Guilty.

_Guilty._

The word sounded odd in his thoughts and would sound even more foreign on his lips. Hell, the only reason he knew the word was because of how well educated he was, _that's_ how rarely he used or even thought about it; unless he was using the word to taunt someone.

But an actual  _genuine_ feeling of guilt, even the tiniest bit? It was nearly unheard of for Frieza. There were only certain events he could think of where he felt _that_ emotion. The one memory that stuck out, was the moment were he rejected Goku's gift, only to end up stealing it in the middle of the night like a mongrel.

He couldn't help but hiss internally, cursing his damned emotions brought on upon by this  _ape._ The Icejin tried his best for his inner thoughts not to echo on his face, though a sliver of displeasure slipped through his restraint.

He noticed the dwindling number of soldiers, deciding he'd deal with his thoughts later. Instead of responding to Goku verbally, the tyrant only hummed dismissively. 

A moment later, the two arrived at the large, solid, doors, that lead to the Central Room. As always, they opened automatically, revealing the circular interior. Luckily for Frieza, no one was there, not even Beriblu or Kikono.

 _Must be off doing something else,_ the tyrant thought. The emperor sauntered into the room, the bright lights getting to his eyes more than he thought.  _Gods, staring at those projections all the damn time certainly is getting to me,_ he cursed in his mind, squinting his eyes to perhaps save his tortured retinas.

Goku looked down at the clearly distressed tyrant, before scanning the room. "Is there any way to turn off the lights?" He asked the peculiar question.

Frieza looked up at the Saiyan, though the man's image was blurry through his squinting eyes. If his eyes weren't practically closed, anyone could see the clear confusion that shone in them.

 _The simian doesn't seem to have any trouble with the lights, so why is he asking_? The question plagued the pale alien's mind before he figured it out.

He couldn't help but growl, facing away from Goku as he rubbed his eyes furiously. "I don't need your  _concern_ nor  _pity_! I'm completely fine, I just need some time to adjust is all!" He snarled.

If it wasn't clear enough, the tyrant hated pity, especially if it came from  _Goku_.

"Are you su-"

" _Yes!_ "

As if trying to prove his point, the Icejin started to move around searching for his makeshift throne, and while his eyes were indeed adjusting, his vision was still very fuzzy.

Watching Frieza's petty attempt of trying to avoid his help, got the man trying to plead again although his tone was more stern. "Frieza, come on, just tell me where I can find something to dim the lights."

The addressed tyrant whipped around to face Goku, his vision much clearer. "Are you  _deaf?_ Or do you need me to spell it out for  _you_?  _I_.  _Don't_.  _Want_.  _Your_.  _Help_." He hissed out venomously, before facing away from the Saiyan and continuing, "Besides, I can see much better now." 

 Goku watched as the emperor easily reached the pale, white, throne, sitting on it before giving Goku a smug smile, which promptly left his face as he turned on the projector, recoiling like a cat being sprayed with water.

The Saiyan frantically thought of a way to turn off the lights, before it hit him. The panel in front of Frieza's seat must be able to control the ship or at least this room. Rushing up the three white steps that lead to the emperor's chair, he stood in front of Frieza, who was covering his eyes with his pale hands, cursing shamelessly.

Goku was surprised at how much hatred someone could hold for a piece of technology.

He was immediately overwhelmed at the number of alien signals and controls. Throwing caution to the wind, the Saiyan randomly selected what he thought held some semblance to a light switch. He dragged the white line trapped in a rectangular box down, watching with relief as the lights started to dim.

Frieza, noticing how darker the room was through the cracks of his fingers, reluctantly removed his face from the comfort of his hands. The bright, green, light from the projector clashing with the blackness of the room really wasn't all that great, but it was better than blinding light on light.

His eyes adjusted much quicker to his surroundings, and it was less of a strain on him. The tyrant shifted his red irises to Goku, whose entire body was illuminated in the green light, smiling wide like he was proud of himself.

Frieza's eyes were half-lidded, unimpressed. Rollings his eyes, he clutched both of his white hands beside his head, in a swooning manner. "Truly my prince in shining, yellow, armor, I'd never know what I would do without you Saiyan." He said tepidly.

Goku only chuckled in response.

The tyrant's lips quirked up before going back down. He lazily shooed the Saiyan away from the control panel, who decided to reposition themselves behind the ivory overlord and his similarly colored seat.

What was currently displayed on the holographic projection was just the basic 'home screen'. It held regular things such as dates, updates, status reports, massages, etc. Frieza strategically started messing with the various controls on the panel that stood in front of him, Goku only being able to stare in awe even though he had zero idea as to what was happening.

A moment later, the projection flickered to a globe shape, different spots of spread out, colored, light, dotting its entire surface. Beside it laid a separate projection, a square one, that had the image of a planet and it's documented information.

"Woah..." Goku gasped from behind the tyrant. Frieza couldn't help but smirk at the ape's blatant awe, twisting his body around to face the man. "Impressive, isn't it?" He turned back, now facing the two projections, "Or, well, it is to you. To me, it's just another daily occurrence."

"What is all that?" Goku asked, seemingly ignoring the emperor's comment, or just to in awe to notice.

Frieza's tail flicked subtly, as he answered the Saiyan's question. "It's a 'map', you could say, of the universe," He thought for a moment then shrugged, "Or at least a section it, right now we're looking at the south quadrant. The little dots you see are different planets," The tyrant pointed to a red spot with odd numbers beneath it, "Planets, or spots, highlighted in red are successfully conquered planets, ones I own. Blue is bought planets, white are ones I don't own yet, and grey is destroyed planets. The things you see below them are their serial numbers. As you can see, there are  _many_  red and blue spots." The Icejin bragged at the end, clearly proud of his accomplishments.

"There used to be purple, which meant they were my brother's, but... Well, you know what happened." He stated, his tone wasn't full of remorse, but rather pure smugness.

Goku started to speak up. "So... Those are all planets..." 

"Precisely."

The Saiyan cracked a smile. "Cool..." Then he leaned over Frieza's throne-like chair, making the poor tyrant bend awkwardly, which clearly made the Icejin uncomfortable and very annoyed, perhaps a bit embarrassed.

"So, what does that one mean?" Goku asked, pointing to the projection next to the map. The pale alien growled. "Maybe  _get off me,_ and I'll tell you!" He shouted.

"Alright, alright, calm down, my bad."

Feeling Goku slinking back over behind the chair, allowed the emperor to sit up straight again. The small alien huffed, pouting in annoyance. "I would appreciate it if you never do that again."

Rubbing his neck apologetically, Goku responded. "I won't, promise! Just got a little carried away was all..." He chuckled guiltily.

Frieza could only sigh. A part of him wanted to roll his eyes in endearment, but he didn't, instead, deciding to answer the ape's question. "That shows us the current planet we have selected and all its information. You can tell which 'dot' is selected since it will be the only one blinking. Though I suppose it really doesn't matter, the planet selected right now is one I sold recently," A flippant white hand waved in the air, "Some alien wanted it for recreational use, or... Whatever. I truly could care less, if I'm being honest."

The emperor waited for the Saiyan to respond, drumming his finger restlessly on the stark, white, hand rest. He sighed once again, "Well? You can choose a planet now, I've practically summarised everything for you, no need to keep waiting."

"Wait, can we explore for just a second?"

Frieza's face scrunched up. " _Explore_?" He repeated, soothe voice disgruntled and patronizing, as he faced the simian. Like always, the Saiyan didn't care for his threatening demeanor that would make anyone else flee in terror. But then again, this was Goku.

The man only nodded, "Yeah! I wanted to see if I could find Earth." Goku explained. Frieza could only glare at him with an irksome stare, the corner of his lips twitching wildly. The tyrant really didn't want to 'explore', as the Saiyan put it. He'd much rather hurry this up, so they can just fight and therefore  _he_  can payback Goku for all the misery he has caused him, and punch him in his stupid,  _handsome_ , dumb, face!

The tyrant settled on an answer. "No." 

He then watched as Goku sputtered for a moment, before finding his ability to speak again. The Saiyan slunk down in a somewhat pathetic fashion. He started to whine. "But Frieza! It'll only take a second I promise!"

That was all the ape had to say for the emperor to just back out of the argument. Usually, he would be much more persistent, not giving up until he was  _right_ , but he knew if they just sat here and argued, they would be wasting much more precious time then he would like.

He growled under his breath,  _he always hated backing down._

But, just because he gave in, didn't mean he wasn't mad. Like the spoiled brat, his brother always claimed him to be, Frieza flailed his arms angrily almost hitting Goku in the face. " _Fine!_ " He shouted.

The Saiyan cracked a wide smile at winning over the stubborn lizard without much of a fight, yet, unbeknownst to him, sealing his fate against Frieza's wrath.

The Icejin faced away from Goku's teasing smile, angrily fiddling with the control panel. Without skipping a beat, the projection shifted to a different quadrant, the North. The Earth was only recently added- before his resurrection- along with the rest of its galaxy and the Virgo Supercluster.

It was easy to tell where Earth was located without even having to look at its serial number, as its corner of the map was entirely white. Leaning over the panel awkwardly, Frieza tried to tap a small, white, dot, but wasn't able to reach. He cursed his unfortunate height, lengthy tail flicking in irritation.

As he was getting ready to try again, another hand intercepted his, touching the dot with ease. The tyrant's slanted eyes widened in surprise, looking up at the Saiyan who had come to his assistance. He started to feel that warmth in his chest again, a warmth he was begrudgingly becoming acquainted with. 

He tore his ruby-colored orbs away from the man, a frown planted firmly on his dark lips. "I... Appreciate your aid.." The tyrant reluctantly ground out.

"No problem!" Goku responded chirpily, smiling goofily at the Icejin.

"I  _do_  hope you know I don't plan on repaying you for your various acts of generosity." Spoke the pale alien, currently having an unwinnable staring contest with the floor.

The Saiyan only looked down at Frieza like he had spoken the obvious, eyebrows knitted together in mild confusion. "Yeah... I know, I wasn't really planning on getting repaid?" He scratched the back of his ebony hair.

Once the last syllable slipped from Goku's mouth, the tyrant whipped his head up to look at him in surprised bewilderment. Never before,  _in his life_ , excluding his much younger self, had  _anyone_ do a favor... No,  _multiple favors_ , because they didn't want something from Frieza. It was new, foreign, unheard of for the alien.

He could feel his cold heart, beat rapidly against his white chest, a small blush coating his cheeks. He could only thank the heavens that it was so dark in here, the only light came from the projections, and even then it was still hard to see.

 _Gods_ , his chest felt like it was about to explode. He actually had to suck in a breath to lessen the overwhelming feelings. He was back in the same position he was moments ago.

How lucky for him.

Frieza faced away from Goku, desperately finding something else to focus on. Shifting his attention back to the painfully bright projections, he began to read the limited information on the planet.

There really was nothing special about Earth, like every other planet on the projection, it had its image and stats, nothing else that would make it remotely unique. The tyrant really couldn't think of why Goku wanted to see it, his only guess was just childish curiosity.

A moment of silence passed, Frieza subconsciously fidgeting with his nails. Suddenly, Goku spoke up, shattering the dull silence. "You said that planets you destroyed are still on here...?"

The emperor's eyes widened barely, before stopping his mindless action, wondering why the Saiyan would ask such a question. It wasn't just curiosity, a hint of seriousness was in the man's voice, clearly, there were ulterior motives to the question. It wasn't that hard to pick up, after all, Frieza's ears were practically tuned to hear the nefarious, and sneaky, undertones hiding in others words. 

As they say, it takes one to know one.

But the Saiyan's tone wasn't filled with underlying ill intent, no, it was nothing like that. It soon became obvious what the man wanted. Frieza sighed, a default action whenever interacting with Goku apparently, but without a word, the tyrant obliged to Goku's unspoken wish.

He knows the Saiyan is fine without him doing so, but the tyrant decided this might as well count as repaying the man. Of course, that's what he told himself, the harsh reality was that the Icejin subconsciously wanted to please the Saiyan. 

He really wanted to bash his head against the panel, thinking, that perhaps if he hit his head hard enough, he could knock these corrupt feelings out of his mind. But that was a foolish hope, as he knew if he did go through with such a thing, he would only be mildly hurt, not enough to get himself into a concussion.

He would also most likely  _absolutely_   ** _destroy_**  the poor control panel.

Not only that, but getting rid of his feelings won't get rid of the flower. It was already embedded inside him and  _flourishing,_ feeding off him like the parasite it is. A mental clock in the back of his mind told him he hadn't hacked up any flowers today, so, he just couldn't wait  _for that_ to happen.

 _That woman better have a decent plan cooked up in her brain when I return to her..._ The genocidal alien hissed in his mind.

Shifting to yet another quadrant, the emperor leaned over, surprisingly being able to push the grey dot without much trouble. And like that, all the recorded data about the annihilated planet, 'Vegeta', came up.

Goku stepped forward a little bit, staring at the crude rendition of his birth planet, symbols in a foreign language he didn't understand stared right back at him. Frieza watched, mildly intrigued, as the Saiyan titled his head. Suddenly, a great question appeared in the emperor's mind, a bit surprised he never asked it before.

"Why are you so focused on Planet Vegeta? You surely can't be feeling some type of home-sickness for the planet? You've never even been on it, hell, let alone seen it- before possibly now." Goku turned around to face the tyrant, who, now with the Saiyan's attention, continued. "You were like this before, when I first allowed you into my chamber, for some reason, wanting to see the artifacts I had from Planet Vegeta. So, what's the deal, Saiyan?" He ended, nonexistent eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

Goku seemed to scan his face for a moment-  _Why_? The tyrant didn't know- before he smiled at the pale emperor, putting both of his fists on his orange-clad hips as he stared at the projection. "I don't feel home-sick, but I do feel like I kinda missed out, and I can't help but be curious. I grew up on Earth, never knowing what I truly was before an alien popped out of the blue and told me I was apart of an alien race called the Saiyans. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what my life would like if you... Uh, didn't blow up Planet Vegeta." 

Goku scratched his head awkwardly, as he looked back at Frieza for that bit, prompting the ruler to roll his eyes. He waved an impatient, white, hand at the Saiyan, a signal for him to continue.

he didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to get enraptured in the Saiyan's words. Goku seemed a bit surprised at the emperor's eagerness to hear his story, but he happily obliged. Goku looked back at the projections. "But... Do you know what? I'm happy I landed on Earth because if I hadn't, I wouldn't know the people I do now,"  He removed his fists from his hips, turning his whole body around to face the still seated Icejin. "I wouldn't have fought the battles I have," He raised a fist in the air, clenching it to emphasize his words. "I wouldn't be at the level I am now," Without warning, Goku started closing the limited space between them.

Frieza was shocked at the ape's actions but he didn't move, it felt like he couldn't. The Saiyan stopped right in front of the emperor, gently touching his porcelain white arms as if asking permission from the tyrant that it was alright with him. A shock of warmth ran through the tyrant at the touch. 

Seeing no retaliation towards his actions, Goku continued, slowly crouching down until he was at eye level, maybe a tiny bit shorter, with Frieza. "I wouldn't have gone on the adventures I had, I wouldn't have learned the lesson I have, I wouldn't be here with you right now. So, to answer your question, I'm not home-sick, because I wouldn't have it any other way."

 _Gods,_ it was cheesy, and he's always disliked happily asinine speeches, but he just couldn't move. It was like he was entranced in the Saiyan's spell and had no way of breaking free. He was hooked on every word that spilled from the man's mouth, a siren song he couldn't help but listen to. Frieza wanted to move, in fact, if he was able to, the tyrant would have stopped this entire thing before the man could touch him.

But every other sense was drowned out, long forgotten, as all Frieza could do was be transfixed on Goku.

_Something felt like it was crawling up his throat._

They stared at each other for a moment, Goku onyx eyes filled with emotions the Icejin couldn't identify, while his own irises just stared back. He didn't know what he felt, it was like he felt everything but nothing at the same time.

He didn't know why... But this entire interaction reminded him of his dream.

_The taste of copper greeted his mouth._

But then a little seed of anger planted itself in the tyrant's seemingly frozen mind, bringing him back to his senses. His doe-eyed expression shifted to one of dissatisfaction, glaring at Goku. Before the other man could say a thing, Frieza tore away from the Saiyan's warming touch, steadily walking towards the doors.

The bright light from the halls wanted to make him recoil, but he didn't, only squinting at the light before moving onwards.

Leaving the mildly baffled Saiyan behind.

* * *

 Outside, he was calm and collected, but once he heard his metal door slide shut behind him, that facade immediately left. The tyrant rushed towards the lavatory in his room, desperately trying to keep the blood in his mouth. 

His restroom was much more lavish than his soldier's sad excuse for a bathroom, but that was to be expected. Everything was marble white, with accents of gold and purple here and there. A large bath stood in the middle of the room, it wasn't there for Frieza to clean himself up as it was more of a place for the tyrant to submerge himself in hot water and relax.

To the corner of the room was a shower and next to it was an alien facility. There was also other necessitates one would use in the lavatory, like towels, cleaning products, etc. Each one vastly expensive in their own right, but what Frieza focusing on right now, were the two previous necessitates he mentioned.

He had to do something, and fast, as blood was already trying to escape his mouth, and it was getting harder not to cough. His body was visibly shaking as he tried to fight against his natural urge to hack up the rose.

He looked at the facility, mentally cringing at the thought of sticking his face in such a place, then he shifted his blood-red eyes to the shower. The water could wash away the blood, and afterward, Frieza could just crush the flower like always. 

He really didn't need to go through that mental evaluation to make a choice, as he already made up his mind, but he did anyway, just in case he encountered a problem of some kind.

The emperor rushed over to the shower, pushing a golden button and turning the water on. Without further warning, the blood he kept so desperately withheld came rushing out. It was almost instantaneous. The icejin kneeled over himself as he coughed violently, trying to rid his throat of the cursed flower.

As the rose's short stem cut his throat from the inside, violet blood began painting the shower floor beneath him, mixing with the water to create a twisted form of art.

After, long, routine, coughs, the flower finally exited his body. He watched with morbid interest as the water twirled the purple rose around and around the drain like a disturbing dance. Subconsciously, he reached a hand up to his throat, massaging it.

With a sigh, the tyrant slowly stood up, surprised at how hard it was to stand. It felt like someone had laid an entire concrete slab on his back! While that was mildly concerning, it was truly infuriating to the emperor.

To think that a goddamn  _flower_  had enough power to drain him...

He soaked in the spray of water for a minute cleansing himself of his own blood. The water wasn't the usual scolding temperature he liked, but it was rather cold. Unexpectedly, an interesting thought entered his mind.

The Icejin thought back to the moment he had torn away from Goku, nearly surprised that the Saiyan didn't follow him, or tried to stop him, especially after what  _he_ had pulled...The absolute  _bravado_ to do such a thing after what happened at the pool!... It was like he pretended it never happened.

The thought angered and distressed the tyrant equally. He didn't  _care_ that he allowed it to happen, he was practically in shock! Why? He didn't know, it just happened! He just hopes that  _never_ happens again.

If it wasn't determined before, Frieza now was going to give that Saiyan everything he  _deserved_.

 He absentmindedly turned the water off, reaching for a towel on the towel rack beside the shower. He dried himself off, proceeding to throw the extravagant towel in a hamper. The tyrant, then looked down at the rose, taunting him just by existing.

Without hesitation, he stepped on the flower.

* * *

 The metallic doors slide open, allowing the emperor into the still darkened room. He was expecting to be greeted by an apoplectic Goku, but that didn't happen.

"Oh! You're back!" The ape exclaimed from the top of the tyrant's platform. "So I was thinking we could go back to that planet we sparred on before!"

Well, this was... Odd? No apology of any sort came from the man's lip, and not a hair of regret was in his voice. In fact, the Saiyan seemed excited...

_Too excited._

Sure, he's seen the ape overly worked up before, but this was different...  _This was fake_.

But, what reason would Goku have to fake his excitement? The icejin couldn't tell if the man was trying to convince  _him_ or  _himself_. It was quite peculiar, and admittedly intrigued Frieza, but another side of him was worried about the ape.

He ignored that feeling.

Nonetheless, he walked up to Goku, seating himself comfortably back in his spot. "You want to go to Planet Aridhio?" He questioned the Saiyan. The man only nodded his head, starting to gain back some of his authenticity.

For being a desolate planet with nothing of value, Frieza remembered it quite well. After all,  _it was where he coughed up that one petal,_ the petal that slowly evolved into something much _worse_.

The thing that caused him  _so much misery_...

He wasn't quite sure if he was willing to go back to the planet for that reason... But, if it meant he was  _finally_ able to get his sweet payback, he didn't care.

Besides, he was getting tired of being so  _damn_  afraid of the thing.

_It was a flower, for fuck's sake!_

"Fine, then that is where we'll go," He put his chin in his hands, "But first, I need to tell Beriblu to contact the Control Room... Problem is, I have no idea where she is right now."

Goku scratched his head, "Why don't you go there yourself?" He suggested, seeming more like his real self again.

That brought a bit of relief to the tyrant.

Frieza only shot him a glare, before crossing his arms childishly, "Because it's too far away, and I don't want to bother walking all that way."

The man smiled crookedly, only giving him a 'really' type of look. The Icejin pursed his lips, glaring with wide eyes at the Saiyan, before a hint of red coated his cheeks. " _What_!?" He hissed defensively.

Goku only chuckled, glancing away from the tyrant. "Nothing..." He said, clearly amused.

That only made Frieza growl. 

 _Well, it seems like there_ was _no need for senseless worry, the ape's certainly his, normal, annoying self._

The simian then crossed his arms, raising a finger, as his ashen eyes looked back at the space lizard. He smirked. "You know, you  _don't_   _have to_  walk all the way there... We could always just use my Instant Transmission." He cleverly suggested.

The tyrant's eyes widen... He didn't even think of that!

A smirk of his own spread across his lips. "What a truly  _wonderful_  idea, Saiyan!... But, could you actually lock on to such small power levels, especially in an area as crowded with power levels like my ship?" 

That made Goku look off to the side in thought, humming as he tapped his foot.

The emperor found the action admittedly endearing. In fact, seeing this much more clever side of the Saiyan  _certainly_ made him feel something.

He just isn't sure he wants to know what that ' _something'_ is.

 Goku than spoke. "Hmm... I'm not sure, but I can try." With that being said, an intense look of concentration graced his face. Frieza watched with interest, as his tail curled curiously.

Suddenly the Saiyan's eyes shot wide open, exclaiming, "Bingo!" As he did. The tyrant was about to ask him 'if he did it?', but a warm hand immediately slapped on his pale shoulder, not giving him the chance as they teleported together.

They then landed somewhere, ceaseless chatter invading the Icejin's ear. So it was easy to deduce that they were somewhere crowded. Since Frieza was sitting when Goku decided to randomly teleport them, he nearly fell on the ground, but a hand prevented him from doing so, pulling him back up.

He hung on to Goku for a little longer, subconsciously enjoying his warmth and the feeling of the hand wrapped around his waist, before he ripped away from Goku's helpful grip in shame.

He then noticed how the noise stopped, Frieza now paying attention to where they were,  _his stomach dropping._

They weren't in the Control Room,  _no,_ they were in the cafeteria,  _the cafeteria for his soldiers._

Everyone was staring at them owlishly _._

 _His soldiers_ , people beneath him, just saw him nearly cling onto the Saiyan like an animal in heat. He summoned all his self-control to stop himself from becoming flushed, and or killing everyone in the room.

"Is this the right place?" The oblivious man asked stupidly. Frieza growled at him, a small hint of red dusting his button nose. " _No_ , it's not! Try again you  _stupid oath_! Hurry!" The small alien hissed at him viciously, urging the man to make haste.

Goku was having a hard time focusing, as the emperor shouted and screamed at him to get them out of there, who occasionally glanced anxiously at his warriors and hissing a poison-filled 'what are you looking at?!' That made half of the soldiers practically have a heart attack.

Somehow, the Saiyan was able to lock onto a signal, even with all of Frieza's distracting orders. With some minor difficulty, Goku grabbed ahold of the small emperor's wrist, whisking them away.

Frieza felt the same cold metal as before, sting his feet. The world was a blur but after a few hurried blinks, everything refocused itself. As the tyrant looked around the room they were now in, his stomach didn't drop, but instead, he felt exasperated relief.

The monkey had indeed brought them to the Control Room, the room dark and frigid, though it seemed like no one was home. Not hide nor hair of a single soldier was seen, making a groan escape the Icejin.

"Um... So is this it?" Goku reiterated. He put his hands on his hips as he stared across the room at the vacant chairs. "Seems like no ones here." The Saiyan said, and even Frieza could hear the tired annoyance underneath his tone.

The thick tail of the tyrant twitched unhappily. "Yes, it appears so," He dragged a hand down his face, " _Lovely_ , it seems I will have to do this by  _myself._ "

"Hey, you don't have to, you got me!" Goku piped up, trying to uplift the continuously annoyed Icejin, but all he accomplished was earning himself a skeptical look from Frieza.

"Oh,  _really_? So I assume you know the exact coordinates of Planet Aridhio? As well as how to work  _this_?" The alien chided, gesturing a sweeping hand to the multiple, advanced, controls.

The Saiyan chuckled nervously, like he was just caught sticking his hand in the figurative cookie jar. "Well... Uhm.."

As much as the tyrant was peeved, the ape's action eased his annoyance, a playful smirk actually gracing his face. Frieza's white tail sneaked up to boop the Saiyan on the nose once again, startling the man.

It was becoming a fun habit of his.

The emperor began to speak. "No, you should sit this out, and let me handle it," Red eyes gazed up to the Saiyan, a humorous glint in them, "I don't need you blowing up my ship now, do I?" He teased, walking towards one of the empty chairs.

"I wouldn't blow up your ship, promise!"

"Yes, and I haven't annihilated millions of races."

"... Do you have to be so casual about that?"

"Aw, am I hurting your poor morality  _Saiyan_?"

" _Frieza._ "

The tyrant chuckled underneath a pale hand, not being able to help himself, as he sat down on the uncomfortable seat. It was nice to know they could still banter like this; passive-aggressively. As if only a thin string was keeping them from going back to nemesis, especially with everything going on.

That type of teasing was always his favorite, seeing how far he could push the Saiyan until the man lost his patience with Frieza and warned him to stop. Truly, it ignited something in his sadistic side.

A bit of lust, he could suppose.

 Truth is, Frieza was fine with feelings things such as lust for the monkey, even if he was a bit disgusted by it. But feeling such asinine emotions like  _love..._  That's where the emperor drew the line.

_Or at least he tried to._

He turned his attention to the complex alien tech which laid in front of him. A hum escaped the tyrant, laying his hands comfortably above multicolored buttons, each one having its own unique purpose.

 _Gods, how long it's been since I've touched anything like this,_ Frieza thought, running a pale finger around a yellow button's rim. He didn't hesitate to push it, watching alien commands pop up on the screen. Above the buttons was a keyboard of some sort, which the emperor quickly got to typing on.

He felt the simian lean on his chair, watching over his shoulder invasively. He could feel the heat radiating off the Saiyan.

The close proximity was distracting the tyrant, making it difficult to focus on what he was doing. He tried his best to subtly lean away from the raven-haired man.

"Too bad no one was here when I Instant Transmission us, would make this a whole lot faster, huh?" Goku said, making an attempt at small talk. The emperor tried to ignore the shiver that went down his spine at having the rich voice so near to his ear, a blush painting his pale cheeks.

Frieza had half the mind to disregard Goku, and the other, to respond. He decided to go with the latter option, believing the ape would just pester him if he didn't. He also had a very interesting question to ask him anyway.

The icejin was crouched over the command board like a dragon guarding its precious treasure, before answering in a calm tone. "Indeed..." He paused, "Tell me Goku... How _did_ you manage to teleport us here if no one was available for you to lock on to?"

The Saiyan dangled his hands over Frieza's seat, claiming the free space the tyrant left between them. "Huh... Good question."

Frieza deadpanned.

He swiveled his head over his shoulder to look at the nonchalant man. "You mean you  _don't know_?" The emperor jeered, watching as the ape shrugged while smiling an apologetic grin.

 "Not really... I mean, I _was_ having a hard time _concentrating_..." He purposefully shot a look at the Icejin, who sneered at him in kind. The expression of they'll-never-find-your-body painting the small alien's complexion.

"So maybe, I locked onto someone who was recently leaving?" Goku said. Frieza only stared at him with more intensity, confusing the Saiyan.

"...It sounds like you made that up."

Goku whined. "What?! No, I didn't! I swear Freezy-pop!"

A red streak spread across the tyrant's face. "STOP CALLING ME THAT." With a huff, Frieza faced the alien controls, ignoring Goku as he whined behind him.

The tyrant never had an endearing nickname before; Only the insults his brother called him. There was something intimate about it that had Frieza squirming in his seat with withheld rage and smitten swooning. 

Easily, the rage dominated the other. Something he was thankful for.

His hands raced over the alien words, and in a couple of seconds, a course for Aridhio was set. He sighed, eye twitching in annoyance at Goku's constant prattling. "Would you _shut up_?!" The tyrant hissed, making the Saiyan silence himself. The Icejin sighed again. " _Thank you_... Now, I'm done setting in the coordinates."

Frieza got up out of the seat, Goku watching with extreme interest as the alien walked over to an entirely different section of the Control Room. Goku observed that this area had a chair like all the others, a large screen, and a lever of some sort.

The emperor sat down, grabbing ahold of the lever. A sardonic grin accompanying his face. "Now," He began with a smug voice, "Since this is your first time experiencing this, you _might_ want to hold onto something." The tyrant advised, flipping the lever.

Goku was confused about what Frieza was talking about, but then he felt the whole ship shift and the gravity change. Frantically, he held onto the chair he had been dangling his arms over, trying to prevent himself from being squashed against the metallic walls of the ship.

Frieza wasn't even phased by the ship's hyper speed, which was a given from being exposed to it all the time.

He watched the Saiyan with sadistic glee, tail wagging in unrestrained amusement.

* * *

 The familiar, desolate terrain, stretched on for miles. Frieza could barely even see the end of it, as he stood in front of his ship. The Saiyan stumbling awkwardly beside him.

Ever since experiencing the ship's hyper speed, Goku's been having great difficulty finding his balance. In his words, his legs 'felt like jelly'.

It was highly amusing.

It almost gave the tyrant enough satisfaction to not get his little revenge on Goku. The operative word being 'almost'.

The Saiyan stumbled clumsily in front of the white alien, back turned to him, putting his hands on his hips, as he tried his best to stand firmly on the arid ground without tipping over. "Woo man! Now this place brings back memories! Still super hot though..."

The tyrant only hummed in response, as the man prattled on about 'fights' and 'sickness', only paying half attention to him as he sunk deeper into his thoughts. This was what Frieza has been anticipating for the whole day... A chance to finally relieve his pent up _anger_.

_Pulling such a move at the Central Room when they were both still recovering from 'The Incident'._

A glare.

 _Ruining his life yet again by making him feel such a way, not just for someone, no, a_ Monkey.  _Resulting in being cursed with a long-thought-to-be-legend._

Hand balling up into a fist.

_Not kissing him at the pool, which would have ended his misery!_

_But most importantly,_

_Choosing that woman over_ him _at the last second._

Goku, after not hearing any input from the tyrant, turned his head around. "Frieza...?-"

His head immediately whipped around with such force, that it almost stung. Goku believed he even heard a symphony of pops coming from his neck. Blood freely flowed down his nose as he looked at the Icejin with an accusatory glance of confusion. 

"Hey! What was that for-" Goku began, only to be cut off by another swing from the small tyrant, which he luckily dodged.

 Frieza growled ferociously at the miss and was about to attack again when the Saiyan zoomed off into the horizon, giving him no choice but to follow him.

Seconds later, the emperor landed on a plateau, a good amount of distance put between him and the monkey. Goku idled in a semi-fight position, care-freeness and excitement exuding from his person.

"You know," He spoke up, grasping the pale alien's attention, "It's really nice to see you so eager to fight, but maybe don't pull any more sucker punches?" The Saiyan said.

Frieza only smirked, getting into a fighting position of his own. "Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry Saiyan,  _did I hurt you_?"

The raven-haired man smirked back. "I wouldn't say it 'hurt hurt'," He wiped the blood dribbling down his nose with the back of his hand, fully getting into a fighting stance, "But  _yeah_." 

 A breeze blew across the barren landscape, as the two fighters stilled with bated breath, waiting for even the slightest muscle to move...

A burst of power shoot through the air as they charged each other, bouncing around the sky as they exchanged blows. Frieza tried to strike the man with his tail, only to have it dodged. He snarled in dissatisfaction.

In retaliation, Goku threw a punch, the tyrant swiftly blocking it with his arms. This situation of hit, block, dodge, continued on for many minutes. Neither of them landing a hit as their attacks canceled out each other.

It was utterly infuriating for the Icejin. He was purposefully trying to make his blows more vicious,  _he_ wanted to see Goku _bleed._ Except that couldn't exactly happen when the ape is constantly avoiding or countering his attacks!

Finally, someone gained the upper hand.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Frieza.

The emperor swung a powerful kick towards the Saiyan's face, who narrowly caught it. The tyrant put more force behind it, pushing his restrained leg closer and closer to Goku. It felt good to know the ape was having a hard time withholding the kick, even _if_ he was playing it up a bit.

His gratification was thrown out the window when he saw the mischievous grin the Saiyan wore. He was briefly confused, _surely the ape has nothing to be smirking about, he's practically cornered! So why is he..._

Realization hit him like a brick at less than perfect timing. Frieza glowered. " _Goku_ -"

The emperor was cut short as he was flung to the ground by the hand that had caught him. Before hitting the terrain below, the tyrant regained control over his free-falling body, steadily landing on the ground, albeit on all fours.

Suddenly, a bout of fatigue hit him.

Before he was able to ponder over it, he barely dodged a strike from Goku. The two fighters both separated, taking a small break.

They were both scuffed up from their little tussle. The Icejin could even see the smear of dried blood underneath the Saiyan's nose.

Goku wasn't even breaking a sweat, while Frieza was panting like a shade-deprived mutt, and the Saiyan noticed. "Hey, you good over there?" He shouted, "We can stop if you'd like to!"

A part of the emperor was touched by how concerned the ape was, while the majority was in a full-blown rage. "I'm  _fine_!" He hissed angrily.

"Well... Alright." If the Saiyan didn't have such a loud voice, Frieza might have not overheard his small mutter.

With a sneer, the tyrant attacked first, prompting the man to counter him. In repetitive style, the two- once again- exchanged blows, only to have them dodged or blocked by the other.

This was _not_ how the emperor wanted their sparring match to be.  _He_ was supposed to be the one with the upper hand,  _he_ was supposed to enjoying this,  _he_ was supposed to be taking care of all this anger the Saiyan caused. But if anything, this fight was only further _infuriating_ him.

Nothing was going the way he _wanted_!

And here he is! Having the lower hand _if anything_ , not landing _any_ blows besides that sucker punch, and slowly getting _more tired_ as they sparred! Which didn't even make sense! He should have much more stamina, they haven't even been fighting for that long!

 _Unless_...

A terrifying thought entered his mind,  _no... no, no, no, I already have enough to worry about as it is, I do not need to be adding onto my anxieties!_

in a matter of seconds, he found himself pinned to the ground underneath the Saiyan, who wore a victorious smile. "You ready to tap out Frieza?" He said with playful smugness.

There had to be some way he can gain the advantage... Then he noticed their position.

 _Oh, gods, oh no,_ He immediately started to whine in his head,  _I don't want to_ do that!  _I know I committed to the idea as part of my revenge but... I..._

He internally sighed,  _If it'll help me get the upper hand, and embarrass the simian as well... Then it's the best option I can see right now._

Swallowing his pride, dignity, and disgust, he began slowly adjusting himself, shifting his scarlet eyes away from the sight of the Saiyan.

_I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this-_

He stretched his arms above his head. Goku's eyebrows knitted together in bafflement as he watched with curiosity to what the Icejin was doing.

 _I hate this_ so  _much! Just kill me already, you stupid,_ stupid _, flower!_

Frieza's been to hell before, but this was a very close second.

As well as everything else currently going on with his life.

The tyrant's legs, which were laying perfectly flat, began to rise up until they were bordering on either side of Goku's waist. Every muscle in the emperor's body was twitching with shame and embarrassment. His face felt like it was burning with the heat of a thousand suns, dark lips quivering, and panting with exhaustion.

He didn't know if the sight made him look more 'delectable' to the Saiyan, but he didn't care. He just wanted for this to work so he can forget about it later and never do this again, at least, not with a sober mind free of lust and alcohol.

Goku felt like his brain was frozen, not entirely registering what was happening. All he saw was the form of Frieza underneath him, totally exposed and vulnerable. He felt that feeling again, which he could only describe as a 'craving', but not like one was hungry for food, but like he was hungry for the small alien...?

_Alright, after this, I can go back to the ship, soak in some hot, steamy, water, drink my most expensive wine and read those new books, and- STOP STARING AT ME LIKE THAT!_

Goku shook his head vigorously as he came to his senses, resembling a tomato as he did so. He tried to back off of Frieza, but that reaction was exactly what the tyrant was looking for. The ruby orbs of the Icejin, that had been trying their damnedest to avoid Goku, snapped to the man like a cobra zoning in on its prey.

_Oh, thank gods! This can finally be over, took him long enough though..._

With a loud yell, Frieza positioned his legs under Goku, kicking upwards at his abdomen.  _Oh,_ and he intentionally made sure that one _hurt._

The man was flung to the ground a couple of feet away from the tyrant, landing with a loud thud and grunt. The white Icejin picked himself off the ground, beginning to dust off all the bits of dirt that were stuck in his back and digging into his scales.

Goku clutched his stomach, over-exaggeratedly moaning in pain. Frieza couldn't resist the temptation to roll his eyes as he walked closer to the Saiyan's fetal body, but  _damn,_ if those noises didn't bring some sort of satisfaction to the tyrant.

He stood over the Saiyan, watching him writhe for a bit. Goku has certainly had his fair share of battles, and therefore, injuries. On the grand spectrum of things, Frieza's little surprise attack didn't hurt as excruciatingly as it could have, but he didn't mind. At least the ape was in pain, and _that_ was all that _mattered_.

Goku looked up at the Icejin, whining childishly. "Thought I told you no more sucker punches...!" He said.

Frieza leaned down closer to the man, a smirk spread shamelessly across his face. His tail coiled happily before he replied breathlessly to the Saiyan, still tired. "It was your.." A sharp intake of breath, "Mistake thinking I would listen to you... besides, if you had not been so _distracted_ , you could have avoided my attack entirely." 

His response made a light blush coat Goku's cheeks. The man looked away shyly. "You're mean." He said.

An unrefined snort came from the small emperor. The hilarious, if not pathetic, statement eased the murderous tension that Frieza was only reveling in moments ago. He shook his head in humor, "I'm well aware." The tyrant said, as he subconsciously extended a pale hand out for the Saiyan to grasp.

Goku's hand latched onto the Icejin's, lifting himself off the ground with minimal help from Frieza. As soon as the man stood on two feet, the emperor ripped his hand away from him, the tingling sensation of heat still dancing across his palm. He didn't like the fact that he liked it so much.

The Saiyan proceeded to stretch next to the alien overlord, who took the spare time to regain his deprived stamina. Finishing stretching out his shoulder, Goku brought his hands down to his waist. "I think it's safe to say that our sparring match is over, huh?" He said, turning his head around to face Frieza.

The emperor wasn't _satisfied_ , far from it, frankly. Yet, he was far too tired to even bother, and would rather spend this time to get his breath back.

He venomously cursed the 'Hanahaki Disease' and the physical and mental strain it put on him, visibly sneering as he did so. Raising a hand, he clutched where his heart would be, before sighing and putting it back comfortably at his side. "Yes... It would seem so." The tyrant replied.

With that being said, Goku plopped down nonchalantly on the dry terrain, the white alien following shortly after. The two sat in silence, the only sounds being Frieza's exasperated breath and the arid wind that blew past them.

Only seconds into their leisure time and the tyrant already began to feel eyes scorching into the side of his head. He could see what was coming next, a mile away, on a faraway planet, in the middle of nowhere-space.

"...Do you know if there is any water on this planet?" The Saiyan questioned.

Frieza groaned angrily at the very obvious concern in the man's voice.  _How many times do I have to tell that monkey off today!_ He hissed internally,  _I don't want. His. Pity._

He whipped his head towards the Saiyan's direction, eyes narrowed into ruby slits. "I'm not sure, how about _you go find it_?" The icejin jeered, believing that put an end to Goku's persistent, unnecessary, worry.

The Saiyan stared blankly at the Icejin as if trying to register what the tyrant had just said. A smile then appeared on the man's face. "Alright!"

Frieza's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

Wind and dust whipped around him without warning, forcing him to shut his eyes tightly. As the world around him began to settle down, the tyrant slowly opened eyes, and, unsurprisingly, the man was nowhere to be found.

A sigh escaped the emperor's lips. The ape's persistence never ceases to amaze him, no matter how annoying it is.

The icejin rubbed his temples out of habit, sighing as he did so.

_Well, at least I have some time to think with that pestering Saiyan gone-_

"Hey!"

 _... I've spoken too soon._ Apparently, even trying to have a moment to himself with the man breathing the same air as him was an impossible feat.

His tail flickered from side to side in annoyance, looking up at the man with tired resignation. "Well, that didn't take you very long now, hm?" He raised a condescending brow.

Goku scratched his head, smiling brightly. "Yeah! Turns out there's a little pond near here!" He said, voice warm like it always was.

Frieza rolled his eyes, his tone the exact opposite, cold and taunting. "My, you've found a body of water, what an accomplishment. Would you like a reward for your hard effort? Because that _certainly_ can be arranged. How about a planet fifty light-years away from here-"

A hand firmly clasped onto his shoulder, swiftly cutting him off as he was teleported away to an entirely different location. Soft dirt with scattering grass now laid beneath his feet. A quick scan of his new surroundings displayed a scarce variety of alien vegetation and fauna.

Goku let go of his shoulder, effectively freeing him from his grasp. Before Frieza could scold him for haphazardly whisking them away, a snicker came from the man, which prompted an unhappy pout from the tyrant.

The Saiyan looked down at him with a positively, shining, smile, eyes crinkled with amusement. "Has anyone told you, you talk too much?" He playfully teased.

Frieza knew it was a harmless joke, but he couldn't help but feel like it was a jab at him. A particular trait the Saiyan disliked, but was covering his insult with the facade of a friendly poke. 

A part of him got defensive at the illusional thought, but that was all it was. An illusional created by his deepest insecurities, and nothing else.

 _Damn his emotional side,_ it's been getting harder to ignore after that 'Incident'.

He cleared his head, finally responding to Goku. " _No one would dare,_ " He hissed, before looking down at the ground, "Besides _two_ _certain_ women I know that are associated with the color blue." The emperor spitefully murmured.

A quizzical look graced Goku's face. "What does that mean? Is it like... A metaphor? Or something...?"

A sigh. "It's nothing, just ignore what I said."

"Ok...?"

Albeit, still confused, the Saiyan walked over to the small pond he mentioned before, Frieza leisurely walking behind him with his pale arms crossed. 

With a big smile, Goku spread his arms out, as if he was a ring leader hyping up his biggest act. The act being the small body of water, apparently.

"Since you were getting really tired, I thought I could find you a place to just hang out and restore your stamina! Here, we can just cool off, 'cause it is really hot..." 

The tyrant hummed dismissively, staring down at the pond. It was a shade of blue- the most typical color when it came to water Frieza has noted- but murky.

Which he considered made sense, it was, after all-

Goku cupped a bit of water in his palm. "And, we can have a drink!"

The emperor's widened at the statement. Goku started to bring his hands closer to his mouth, only to be stopped by the Icejin's harsh grip on both his wrists. The water flung from his hands, moistening the ground below them.

The Saiyan looked in baffled anger at the small alien, his unreasonably rude attitude finally getting on the man's nerves, no matter how endearing it could be. "Hey-"

"What are you?! _Stupid_! That water's poisoned _idiot_! Why do you think this planet is such a _barren wasteland_! The only reason that there's even some semblance of vegetation is that they adapted! _Gods_! Who knows how many powerful beings have fought you in a vain effort to kill you, and yet, _arguably_ , the most powerful man in possibly the  _multiverse_ meets his demise by some _poisoned water!_ Seriously, what kind of buffoon decides to drink water on a deserted planet! You _really_ have to be a special kind of dumb-"

A pause.

"... Why are you looking at me like that?  _Stop looking at me like that._ "

The Saiyan was beaming at him with all his earnest, a small twinkle in his eyes that Frieza did not like one bit. He then spoke up. "You're... You're concerned about me." It wasn't a question, it was a _statement_.

A statement that had the emperor's world crumbling around him. He _was_...

Frieza, a despicable, heartless, villain, was concerned for his greatest enemy. A man he was trying moments ago, to release all his anger out on. A man that has, and still is, ruining his life. A man that he hates with every sinew, bone, and nerve.

_What was happening to him?_

_No, no... I will not let the ape have that satisfaction!_ The tyrant hissed mentally. Recollecting his thoughts, and storing _that_ little tidbit of 'information' in the deepest abyss of his mind, he turned away from Goku with a huff. The Icejin crossed his arms. "Do not be ridiculous, _Saiyan_ , I was not concerned for you. Only concerned by the thought of getting beat to the punch by some toxic water."

The Saiyan didn't seem to buy it, still bearing that dumb smile, but decided to leave it be. He sat down at water's edge, the action catching the emperor's curiosity. "Yeah, Vegeta probably would've been mad too!" Goku said, looking up at the still-standing tyrant, who didn't stay like that for much longer.

Plopping down next to the raven-haired man, the Icejin had a point to make. "Listen here _Saiyan_ , I am the only being allowed to _kill you_ _._  Not some _water_ , not that _monkey Prince_ , ending you is a privilege for _me_ and _me alone._ "

Of course he thought that, who wouldn't at this point? Sad thing is, he doesn't know if he is physically capable to kill the ape anymore. Even with all his combined rage, just one little look or funny remark from Goku, leaves him melting.

It was _infuriating_! 

"I don't know... You and Vegeta will probably have to battle it out for the right to kill me!" The jolly voice broke Frieza's train of thought, though he didn't mind. It was a bit odd to see someone talk about their figurative death so casually, though he supposed it didn't carry much weight when you always have a reset button on hand.

_Hm..._

He didn't respond to Goku, instead, attention being unwillingly drawn to the man's face. Mainly his eyes.

Sometimes, they looked like a glassy void, and others, the coals of a warm fire. Why did he always have to be so _indecisive_? Why couldn't life just let him hate the damn fool, why make things so complicated?

His eyes were then drawn to the dried blood under Goku's nose. A sense of pride flooded through him, and then a sudden urge. Against his better judgment, the tyrant dipped his thumb into the murky water, bringing it up to the Saiyan's face.

The man was startled as the white thumb started wiping the blood away, tenderly out of character for the emperor. Frieza had no idea what he was doing and why, it just felt like his whole body was on auto-pilot, having no say over what it did, as he screamed into the void that was his mind.

He continued wiping off the dried blood until it was completely gone. The Icejin then pulled his hand away slowly, almost like he was afraid the Saiyan would bite him if he moved too quickly.

 A long, silent pause, stretched between them, as neither of them knew what to say or do. Frieza could already hear his heart beat rapidly against his ribcage, and if he listened close enough, he could even hear Goku's.

Finally, one of them spoke up. "Um... Th-Thank... You...?" The Saiyan awkwardly sputtered.

The emperor grunted in response, turning his head away from the simian. Thoughts were invading his mind as every quiet second passed by, each one more paranoid than the last. 

_Why did I do that? What is wrong with me! Good way to go Frieza, you screwed up your chances of ever getting rid of this flower! He must think you're weird now!-_

The spiral of thoughts continued down the abyss, the tyrant subconsciously bringing his knees up towards his chin, mimicking a fetal position.

As if sensing the Icejin's distress, Goku scooted closer to the alien. It wasn't like the man was disregarding his uncomfortably like the last couple of times today, but rather trying to give him comfort with his presence.

It was something Frieza despised, yet appreciated, all at the same time.

Water hit the side of the tyrant, causing him to look over his shoulder in confusion, getting a momentary break from his thoughts. Goku wore a playful look, with softness glinting in his eyes.

The expression had a whole other wave of emotions hit him. A blush, the emperor hope the Saiyan didn't notice, tinted his pale cheeks. Then a sneer flitted across his face, in a poor attempt to conceal his true feelings. "What're you-"

Another sudden splash of water cut him off. Feeling more peeved than confused, Frieza retaliated with his own attack, spurring on the ape more.

It didn't take long for them to be in an all-out war.

It was quite the bizarre scene. Two completely different aliens, in so many ways, splashing each other with potentially life-ending water, like a couple of children. Hell, the tyrant was even enjoying himself.

It was another moment where Frieza felt free, like there were no restraints holding him back. As if, all the rules he's ever been taught just vanished entirely.

Even all his worries from before were gone, no trace of them to be found. He wasn't thinking about the 'Hanahaki Disease', he wasn't thinking about the poolside, he wasn't thinking about _anything_.

All that mattered was this moment and Goku.

...

 _It scared him_.

* * *

 The cool air of the ship was more than welcomed after being on such a scorching planet for so long. Well, it was for Goku, Frieza actually quite liked the heat, especially compared with the ship's own temperature.

Steam rose into the tyrant's luxurious room, narrowly slipping under the metallic door. The Saiyan was currently taking a shower per Frieza's demand, and _my_ , how the _bastard_ was _certainly_ taking advantage of the _hot water..._

He shot a glare at the door, but it wasn't like the man could see the action, so he went back to swirling the water he had in a cylinder; A useless towel draped over his shoulders.

The ape was  _drenched_ when they got back to his ship...

Alright, so ' _drenched_ ' might be a little exaggerated, but the man was at least soaking! And while Frieza was a bit wet himself, _he_ wasn't the _one_ nearly flooding his ship! Not only that, but the combination of sweat with the water made Goku smell like a stray animal someone found in the alleyway on a rainy night.

It was _putrid_.

So, one could imagine it didn't take long for the emperor to nag the Saiyan into taking a shower and drying himself off for _everyone's sakes_.

But mainly his.

Also, the amount of time it took to teach the simian how to do such simple things, like pushing a button and turning a knob might've as well been hell all over again.

The tyrant could only thank his ancestors for evolving from a reptilian species so he didn't have to deal with such mammalian things like _sweating_ and _body odor_...

Sadly, more mortal things like _emotions_ were still attached to him.

The sound of the metal door squeaking caught his attention. He calmly looked over to it, expecting the man, and while Goku did indeed come out through that door, there was a slight problem...

He was wearing a towel.

 _Just_ a towel.

An odd noise similar to a squeak, escaped the tyrant, as a hefty blush now covered his face. He sputtered for a moment before growling. " _Where are your clothes_!" He hissed.

Goku just scratched his head, looking slightly confused. "In the bathroom? Well, actually more like your hamper..." The man then put his hands on his hips, "You know, why do you have a hamper? You don't wear clothes so..."

Frieza narrowed his eyes at the man, tail flicking with annoyance. "On certain occasions I do, also,  _towels._  But that's beside the point, what  _I_ want to know, is why you _aren't_ wearing your Gi."

The Saiyan childishly whined. "Well, it's soaking wet! You'd only be angry If I wore it." He explained, and the emperor couldn't help but agree that he had a point...

"Besides," Unexpectedly, Goku sat down on the couch, causing the flustered Icejin to scoot away in a hurry, "I'll be gone in a bit, so you don't need to worry, even though there really is no reason to!" The Saiyan joyfully teased, which earned a pout from the white alien.

Frieza rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not keen on seeing your..." He paused for a minute, a shiver of disgust and fluster running down his spine, "Erm... _Taint_." He cringed.

The Saiyan let out a chuckle, thoroughly enjoying the space lizard's embarrassment. They sat on the lavish couch quietly, as the emperor took a swig of water, the stainless steel almost glistening as he did so.

Hearing shuffling Frieza's crimson eyes naturally shift to the noise. He nearly has a heart attack when his eyes unintentionally lock with Goku's staring ones.

As if on cue, their eyes are quickly averted. An awkward air fills the room, but that apparently doesn't stop the Icejin's eyes from trailing over to the man on their own accord. 

The unwarranted action startles the tyrant. It was like he was, once again, being puppeteered by his emotions.

The fact had him mentally cursing and swearing.

Frieza unwillingly studied Goku's face. Almost like his eyes, it amazed him how soft, yet stern, his features were.

He couldn't help but think back to the dream for a moment, as well as the pond.

It seemed his eyes _really_ liked looking at the ape.

Then he focused on his species ridiculous hair, cringing at the urge to run his fingers through it.

If he did that, he'd most likely lose his hand forever in the black abyss.

His eyes then shifted down to the Saiyan's... _Abs_.

Oh, how he wanted to bang his head against a table right now.

It wasn't like the emperor hasn't seen them before, but he's never had proper time to stop and... ' _Appreciate_ ' them.

Probably because he was trying not to.

They were very well-toned, but that was to be expected, but was _unexpected_ and _unwelcomed_ , was Frieza's sudden lust.

He swore his mouth started salivating at the sight, and his body started to get hotter. He thought his previous blush was bad, but his face was now an uncontrollable, burning, flame. The tyrant's thoughts started to be consumed by such vulgar things, which he wouldn't mind if it wasn't about the _certain person_ they were directed at.

All he wanted to do was caress the muscles with his pale hands, as he whispered such tantalizing things into Goku's ears...

He would give him _anything_. Power, fame, feasts, heart-pounding fights, _his body_ -

Gaining control over his thoughts and body once more, the Icejin ripped his eyes away from the man, chugging the last of his water in an attempt to cool himself down.

The action didn't go unnoticed by the Saiyan. "Woah! Hey, hey, hey! Slow down!" He frantically pleaded.

Frieza didn't listen, continuing until he was greeted with nothing but the hollow bottom of the bottle.

The man let out an exasperated sigh, slouching as he watched the emperor place the empty bottle down. "I know you were thirsty, but I didn't think you were _that_ thirsty!" He exclaimed, with a hint of worry. 

The Icejin didn't know if Goku saw his blush, or just didn't acknowledge it, either way, he was thankful about it not being brought up. All he did in response was grunt, brain still in a daze after all _that_.

Out of the corner of his peripheral vision, he could see Goku wearing a dissatisfied frown at his attitude, the concern held in it mocking him. Rolling his eyes, Frieza decided to give a verbal reply this time. "I do hope you know I won't _drown_ by chugging some water."

"Yeah, yeah! I know... But, I-" The man took a sharp intake of breath, swiftly stopping himself from speaking another word, less he wants to agitate the small tyrant further.

But it didn't take a genius to know what the ape was about to say. The emperor just gave him a half-hearted glare, somewhat appreciative that Goku had the care to stop himself.

The tyrant didn't know how to feel anymore, well, how to feel about the simian's concern. His whole life he's been taught that worry and pity from another meant that they thought he was _weak_ , _worthless_. Yet, he noticed a pattern with Goku, how he was different...

He acted like he _cared_ , cared for his _enemy_.

Frieza subtly shook his head, a small smirk tugging on his lips,  _what an absurd, delusional, thought._ Silence swept over the room once again, and like always, especially with the Saiyan around, it didn't last long.

"Hey! You know what? You should come over to my house tomorrow!" Goku chirped. The tyrant snapped his head over to the man, eyes wide and shining with befuddlement.

It was such a bold suggestion, and Frieza had half the mind to chew him out and the other to ask what _exactly_ was the purpose of him going over to his house. Did the Saiyan just completely forget about what _happened_ between them? Because that would certainly explain his recent actions.

But he didn't think that was the case, _no_ , he believes the man was _ignoring it_. And while he couldn't blame him for doing so, he was absolutely _livid_ , perhaps even a bit _saddened_.

 _He regrets not pummeling that monkey into the ground when he had the chance_.

The Saiyan seemed to sense his bubbling feelings, and quickly continued. "Well, uhm, ChiChi won't be home since she's going to this teacher conference thing with Gohan, and I thought, after all the alien stuff you've shown me, I could show you some earth things?" He said, smiling awkwardly, just hoping Frieza would give him some leeway and accept the excuse.

Through clenched teeth hidden behind his lips, the white alien sucked in a breath, exhaling it through his nose in an attempt to calm himself. It was a crude and poorly made-up excuse, which Frieza would normally reject- actually, this whole proposal was something he would reject- but the enticing thought of being in the woman's house while she was not present, sated a part of his anger.

Even if he and the Saiyan weren't doing anything _nefarious_ , a sick satisfaction still came from the thought of being in the harpy's house without her consent. Hell, Goku was basically going to sneak him in.

The tyrant sighed. "Fine." 

"Really? Neat!" Goku exclaimed, getting up off the couch. The action caused a curious sound to slip from Frieza. "Well, I'd better be going, see you later Freezy-pop!" He continued.

And before the emperor had a chance to complain about the ridiculous nickname, the man vanished. The small alien sighed with half-hearted annoyance, the Saiyan didn't even give him the chance to ask for specifics.

He also stole his towel.

Whether he knew that or not.

Frieza stretches his arms above his head, the towel that was draped over his shoulders falling off and down his back. He wasn't sure why, but the Saiyan seemed to be in a hurry, perhaps he was missing an important event? Hm, either way, it was strange-

His eyes widened.

_Wait._

The tyrant got up from his position on the couch, hurriedly walking over to his lavatory. As the metallic door slid open, he wasted no time walking over to the hamper that had zero logical reasons for being so elegant and pristine.

And as he looked inside, his theory was confirmed.

The ape had left his Gi.

Frieza wanted to be annoyed at the man, but he just couldn't, instead, the edges of his lips quirked up as he shook his head in endearment.

_Oh, Goku._

* * *

The tyrant had surprisingly gotten more work done today than he expected, and it was finally time to retire into the sweet sanctuary of his silk blankets. Yet, before he could do that, he had to address a question that's been tugging at the back of his brain for a while now.

"Beriblu."

His loyal advisor acknowledged being address, floating closer to his throne. "Yes, My Lord?"

The tyrant cast a look over to her, before staring straight forward at the black abyss known as space, once again. "Say, if someone was infected by the 'Hanahaki Disease' and their romantic interest died via accident, poison, natural causes; Would they be rid of the _pest_?"

It was clear why Frieza was asking this question with all its underlying intent, luckily, the nanny had no qualms answering his question.

He was her Lord after all.

"I would believe so, Lord Frieza," Beriblu said.

The emperor drummed his dark nails against the flesh of his pale arm quietly. "Hm,  _I'll keep that in mind."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: I am doing longer chapters now, so do prepare for longer wait times :')
> 
>  
> 
> You know what's fun? Accidentally posting your unfinished chapter.
> 
> Thanks phone :)
> 
> This chapter has a lot of subtle/not so subtle, TFS references since I've been rewatching DBZA. Not gonna lie, most of them weren't even intentional, just kinda happened.
> 
> Also, sorry for the random switch of POV in this chapter. Some of you reeaally want to see Goku's thoughts and feelings, so I just wanted to give you guys some of that, because honestly, you don't get to see his POV in this 'Hanahaki Disease Arc' (that's what I'm calling it) like at all.
> 
> Heads up, it probably won't happen again, but I just wanted to give some of you that.
> 
> And thank you all for a 1000+ hits and 100+ kudos! I just- I never imagined so many people would like this story and so fast! I just wanted to contribute to one of my most favorite ships! Once again, thank you all.


	10. Chapter 10 Part 1

_He was walking on pristinely, pearly-pink, floors, trailing after the man with spiky hair. It took the tyrant a moment to process what was happening before he realized he was dreaming again..._

Oh, lovely.

_He sarcastically thought with a roll of his eyes. Frieza deduced that this must be a continuation of his previous dream because everything was the same besides the location._

_The Saiyan was ahead of him by quite a few paces, but he didn't mind or really care, not even trying to catch up with him. The silk-draped Icejin instead wanted to pay attention to his new surroundings._

_One large difference for certain was that they were walking down a long hallway to an unknown destination._

_And by Gods, was everything_ pink.

_Pink there, pink here, pink, pink, pink, pink, pink!_

_Frieza didn't mind pink as a color, but he was getting tired of it,_ and quick.  _He swears if he doesn't see another color soon, he might as well drop dead on the floor._

_Shifting his strained eyes away from the highly overused color, the emperor decided to just focus on following the dream Goku. It was still odd to see him in that armor, yet, he didn't entirely mind..._

Perhaps things would be like this if he had accepted his offer back on Namek?

_Frieza started dangling the small spaceship playfully between his now pale-pink fingers. Being in his first form once again, after decades of staying in his final, was odd and a bit degrading._

_Obviously, his first was weaker,_ much weaker _, and he didn't like that, not when he was in the presence of this Goku. Even in his base, the man was stronger_ _._

_It was clear the tyrant did not trust the dream Saiyan, in fact, he didn't trust this whole dream. It was too bright, too domestic, something had to be wrong._

_And something had to be wrong with that Goku..._

_Hardening his face, Frieza sped up his pace until he reached the fake Goku, walking side by side with him now. The man took quick notice of his presence, beaming a warm smile at the small alien and wrapping an unwelcome hand around the tyrant's waist._

_He wanted to break free of the Saiyan's grip, he wanted to push him away, but that overwhelming sense of numbness was back and all he could do was melt into the touch._

_Then Goku leaned down and started nuzzling his bio-gem. The loving action was soothing, and Frieza couldn't resist the intense urge to release a pleased sigh._

Damn you!

 _Gathering all his strength, the Icejin spoke up, his voice scratchy and dry. "Y-your friends, how are they...?_ " _He said, cursing at how meek his voice sounded._

_He felt Goku pause above him, before resuming his previous actions. He didn't respond._

_Through the hazy numbness, Frieza was able to bubble a growl up in his throat. "Answer me!-"_

_"We're here."_

_With that said, the dream Goku left his post by the emperor's side, who's confused stare followed after him._

_It was when Frieza saw what was held in the room that almost had him running. Purple roses..._ Everywhere _._

_The Saiyan was completely unphased, which he supposed was understandable... They were just flowers. Yet, to the tyrant, they embodied everything he feared._

_Their forms twirled and twist around each other, as their petals reached out to grasp the nearest living thing. The small Icejin felt his breath start to quicken, and while his first instinct was to fight, he wanted to_ run.

_The dream Goku picked up a pair of shears, only further adding to his fear. He watched with caution as the man went around snipping off dead roses with care._

_Frieza would never imagine the real Goku doing something like this, in fact, this brought up memories of his father._

_His father was never one to get his hands dirty when he had others to do it for him, but one thing King Cold did put time and effort into was his garden._

_Or, well, his precious roses to be precise. He didn't trust anyone else around them, so he took up the duty of caring for them. It seemed like a hobby he enjoyed, molding and shaping something into perfection, cutting away the weak strands that served no purpose._

_That's how Frieza cut his finger in the first place when he was younger, by watching his father tend to his invaluable, esteemed, roses._

_He thinks his father even used it as a coping mechanism when he, or his brother, weren't listening. After having a fight with Cooler and 'punishing' him- as Cold called it, because 'beat' was too crass- the small Icejin would always find his father attending to the roses gleefully._

_It was a persistent chilling sight, and Frieza never bothered to ask, afraid of what would happen in response._

_Finishing the small walk down memory lane, the tyrant watched Goku put down the shears, a collection of dead roses now huddled around the large bush from whence they came. Almost immediately after the dream Goku put the tool down, he started picking up and sorting the flower corpses, all while the disturbed Icejin idly sat by._

_Finally, the Saiyan cupped the two most beautiful specimens out the pile and started walking towards Frieza. Startled, the tyrant tried to take a step back, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder._

_Slowly, the Goku drew back his hand,  effectively freeing the poor alien, who was surprised at how fast he was. If he really wanted to, Frieza could run, but what would it matter? This was a dream, nothing was real._

_He took a deep, but subtle, breath, trying to calm his rushing nerves. In his eyes, it was better to accept what was coming than prolong this_ nightmare.

_"Here!" The fake Saiyan said in a mock impression of the real Goku's chirper tone, the sound of it grating on the tyrant's ears. Extending his cupped hands, the man silently signaled for the Icejin to do the same._

_Hesitantly doing so, Goku gently placed the purple rose in his shaky hands... Wait, when did he start shaking? Feeling a sudden urge to protect his pride, Frieza tried to steel his hands, which only barely stopped the jittering._

_The Saiyan then cupped his hands around the emperor's own, squeezing them. A soft voice of which sounded like a whisper from an incubus escaped the lips of this fictional imposter._

_"Aren't they pretty, Frieza?"_

He awoke from his dream with less of a start than he expected. A loud groan escaped him as he sat up, a cascade of silk blankets piling around his body as he did so. 

The tyrant dragged a hand down his face, feeling less than prepared for today. Sleeping was supposed to re-energize you, yet Frieza felt like he had just awoken from laying on a pile of rubble... And that dream certainly didn't help.

That was the first time he's ever had a continuation of a dream that involved Goku. Also, one that had him feeling a certain sense of dread.

Or, to be more specific, a  _newer_ dream that had him feeling a sense of fear with Goku in it, usually, they were just sugar-coated.

Also, he wishes to never compare the ape to his father again. It was... Unnerving, to say the least, especially when said 'ape' was the center of his desires.

With a shiver, the tired emperor stood up, taking a few seconds to stretch his sore body. Today was the day that Goku wanted to spend time with Frieza at his house, something the Icejin didn't how to entirely feel about, but he had already accepted the offer, so... No turning back now, he's sealed his fate.

But on the bright side, that meant he could have more attempts at winning over the Saiyan's affection...

A small blush tinted his cheeks, before he shook his head, clearing out unnecessary thoughts.

...So he could be rid of this disease! Yes, as well as revel in the fact that the man's wife would be gone.

He smirked at that thought.

Making a steady pace over to his plush couch, the emperor rested a white hand on the brightly contrasting orange of Goku's Gi, his smirk softening ever slightly.

It was completely dry now, no trace of dampness left on it. He had ask Beriblu to go through the tedious process of cleaning and drying the outfit, albeit with some help. Apparently, it was very heavy, but it felt like a feather to Frieza.

Which resulted in him putting up with the old lady's constant taunting and suggestive suggestions.

So, _that_ was a joy as always.

Without notice, he started gently caressing the outfit. The material wasn't exactly soft, but it didn't feel bad either... Such an odd texture. A ping from the scouter left on his cooler diverted his attention from the orange Gi. 

With a soft groan, the emperor tiredly picked up the scouter and equipped it, prepared to be called to Central Room by one of his subordinates.

But what he saw was a message from an ID he didn't recognize, but everything fell into place once he read the message.

 

 

>   > 'Customize' is a really fancy word for  _child-proofed,_ ass.

 A smug smirk spread across his lips at the woman's frustration. The tyrant than took off the scouter, and like the offensive term Bulma had claimed him to be, he set the scouter back where it belonged.

Without responding.

He'd deal with that later when he comes face to face with the woman again, but for now, he needed to focus on Goku. 

With one last, reluctant, touch of the Gi, Frieza made his way towards his door, typing in certain inputs like it was second nature, resulting in the metallic door sliding open.

He walked out into the hallway, not surprised to see the only person there to be Beriblu, as everyone else was likely on break. He  _did_ use to have guards who would stand next to his door and 'protect' him, but he killed one, and the other was caught trying to escape.

So, in conclusion, they were both dead.

And since they were on such a short supply of soldiers, Beriblu and Kikono didn't even bother trying to send replacements.

A groan escaped his mouth as he stared at the blue alien's never-ceasing smug face, rolling his eyes childishly as he crossed his arms. " _Yes_?" The tyrant said.

"Apologies, My Lord, but I was just checking in to make sure you were awake," Beriblu answered, "I believe it's about time for you to request a course for Earth?" She said, humming at the end.

The tyrant growled. " _I don't need you to tell me what to do_... But yes, that was what I was preparing to do before  _you_ interrupted." He huffed, attitude similar to that of an upset toddler.

At least, that's what Beriblu thought.

The old woman only nodded her head, condescending smirk only further agitating the galactic emperor. "Of course, Lord Frieza, " She pushed a button on her scouter, "I will request for one right now."

The pale alien's tail flicked impatiently, eyes narrowing slightly as he got the feeling that Beriblu was readying to say _something_ he would no doubt despise.

"Hm, good." Was the short, but direct, response from the Icejin.

The tyrant had decided the best course of action was to go visit the ape, Instead of the other way around, because he was, frankly, tired of Goku popping in and out of reality all the time without notice. It was a fairly simple plan, his ship would land on that mudball, Goku would notice his high power level, they meet, and none of the other  _pests_ and the  _Prince_ would dare bother him because their precious Savior was there.

It should all go exactly like that, unless Goku doesn't sense his power level, in which things might get... Interesting.

So caught up in his thoughts, the emperor didn't even notice how silent it was until now.

But that didn't last long.

"... So, My Lord, what is it that you and your, handsome, young, suitor have planned today? Or is it too  _intimate_ for me to hear?"

And there it is.

A large blush covered his pale face in record time, half in anger, half in pure embarrassment. He tried his best to find his voice again in his overactive mind. "I- we-" A defensive growl, "Stop calling him _that_! He is _not_ my suitor! A-and we aren't going to do anything like...! Like  _that_!"

Beriblu's smirk only grew. "I believe that little flower growing inside of you would say otherwise, My Lord," The fearsome tyrant froze for a minute, almost astonished by the _audacity_ to say such a thing to _him_! The blue alien continued, "As well as those  _clothes._ My, I'm sure you had _lots_ of fun together yesterday."

The now purely red Icejin felt like he was going to faint. The absolute crassness coming from his caretaker's mouth... 

He glared at her viciously, before speaking in a harsh tone. "You _may_ be on a longer leash than everyone here-"

"Yes, quite _long_ indeed, My Lord."

"-But it _ends_ at some point _. Do you understand_?"

Beriblu's smug expression softened, as she considered what her Lord said. Frieza's tail could only curl in satisfaction, _Good, she's taking me seriously now,_ he thought.

Which in hindsight, she should  _always_ do, yet he knows he shouldn't expect such a thing from the person who practically raised him.

 She shrugged in deference. "As you wish, I will try to refrain from teasing, My Lord."

The tyrant's glare lost a bit of its edge, though they were still narrowed. "'Try?'" He quoted from the blue alien.

Beriblu's smirk widened. "No guarantees, My Lord."

Frieza let out an exasperated sigh, there really was no winning when it came to his advisor.

"Can you be serious for _one second_ -"

The shift in gravity caught him off guard, but his surprise was quickly short-lived when he reacquired his balance, a small 'tch' escaping from his dark lips. "Well, took them long enough."

Beriblu hummed. "Perhaps they were having trouble trying to fix the controls _someone_  fiddled with, Lord Frieza."

The pale alien stuttered, having an accusatory spotlight shone on him. "W-well, it's been a while! I was having trouble with the newer controls so I had to reset them to something familiar, not to mention the monkey was pestering me the entire time! Also!" He exclaimed, before crossing his arms and pouting, "I would never have to do that if _they_ never left their posts like good maggots."

Beriblu only rolled her eyes in good nature. "Of course, Sire."

* * *

 Frieza could barely feel the ship land, but a quick glance shot at his window and he had no doubt they were on earth.

He grabbed the Gi, placing it in the crook of his arm, before typing his code, the metal door sliding open. With a brisk pace, the tyrant made his way towards the ramp, the bright earthen sun stinging his eyes momentarily.

As usual, soldiers lined each side of the ramp, and as always, they bowed, yet the royal Icejin paid zero attention to them. He was too busy focusing on the man who stood in the middle of the barren terrain, wearing that dumb smile.

His own lips started shifting upwards from the contagious effect. The emperor walked down the ramp, with an unknown eagerness in his step. 

Soon, he was standing face to face with the ape. Or, more like 'face to chest', as he had to crane his head up just to look the man in the eyes.

He noticed how Goku was wearing something else- he _wonders_ why-, the change of look was nice. The Saiyan wore a white neckerchief of some sort around his neck, perhaps a cravat? With a tan jacket, same-colored pants, a black shirt, a belt, and some brown boots.

Frieza _certainly_  enjoyed the outfit on the man.

The simian looked at him with the same wide smile, a special glint in his eyes.

Ah, so that's part of the reason of why the dream Goku had such an uncanny vibe. Even in his mind, the tyrant couldn't replicate the same look in those dying embers.

The Saiyan was the first to speak up. "Hi."

Frieza couldn't resist a smirk, tail curling in on itself in restrained glee. "Hello, monkey, " He glanced over to the Gi he held, before looking back up at Goku and extending his arm to the man, "I believe this is yours." Said the alien playfully.

The Saiyan wasn't bothered by the fact that the small tyrant didn't even try to hand him back his clothes, just happily picking it up from its perch on the pale arm.

He chuckled, as he scratched his head. "Thanks! But... You really didn't need to bring it back."

Frieza titled his head at that, nonexistent-brows furrowing. A questioning hum escaped him. "Why is that?" He queried.

He watched as the man kicked the dirt, a coy look on his face. It seemed like he was almost ashamed to say something, as his chuckles got higher in frequency. "Uhm... I have more at home...?"

The tyrant's eyes widened. "You... You have  _multiple_?"

Goku nodded his head, avoiding the emperor's eyes, a small blush tinting his skin. "Yep." Was his short, regretful, response.

Well, this was certainly new information to the pale alien. He always thought the Gi was something unique to Goku, but... Was there just a human shop selling these? Or if not, then... Then how did the Saiyan have more...?

Questions for later.

"Well," The tyrant began, drawing the ape's attention back to him, "I suppose you have one more then." He shrugged.

The man snickered, causing another smirk to spread across the Icejin's face. "Yeah, I guess!" He exclaimed.

Frieza's tail wagged happily beside him, not even noticing what he was doing. What he did indeed notice, was the searing feeling of eyes digging into his back.

He took a moment to look behind him, and what he saw terrified him; something he'd never want the cruelest souls in hell to see, something _so_ disturbed even the mighty gods wouldn't be able to withstand!

There stood Beriblu on the ship's ramp, the most condescending and know-it-all smirk painting her expression...

Actually, let him fix that sentence.

She wasn't standing, but _moving closer_.

With a small twitch of his eye, the tyrant whipped his head around back to Goku, clasping his hands behind him. The Saiyan seemed to notice the sudden shift in mood, but he didn't address it, thankfully. 

Trying not to sound rushed, the emperor began speaking. "Well, we should stop dallying, you do want to show me some earthen things, correct?" He questioned.

The man nodded. "Yeah, but we'll have to fly to where I want to show you."

"That's fine!" The Icejin said with much too eagerness. Goku seemed a bit shocked but shot up into the sky anyways, Frieza following suit seconds later.

As they zoomed off to an undisclosed location, the pale alien couldn't help but be relieved that he escaped the clutches of his nanny. He was debating on whether he should have a ' _talk_ ' with her, a matter of it she will take it seriously or not being the glaring problem.

Either way, he shouldn't just roll over and let this behavior go on unattended, he was her boss, her _liege,_ after all.

With a small pout and huff directed to the disappearing spacecraft, he started focusing his attention back on the Saiyan.

"So, do you actually intend on showing me human culture and whatnot? Or was that just part of the excuse to get me to spend time with you?" The tyrant questioned. The thought that the ape had  _literally_ made that excuse up, just so he could hang out more with  _him_ , made his heart annoyingly flitter about in his chest.

Goku looked behind him, a smile still present on his face. "Kinda? I'm still planning on showing you earth stuff, but we'll be hanging out too! I just hope you're not disappointed, what I'm going to show you is nothing really special." He said with an almost apologetic tone, before facing forward once again.

His heart tittered again.

Frieza then shrugged. "Hm, that's fine, I wasn't expecting most earthen things to be anyway." He blatantly admitted.

A few more seconds of flying and they finally touched down on land. Immediately, the Saiyan walked over to a large, green, contraption, the Icejin trailing behind him. The man laid the Gi he was carrying on the seat of the machine, before looking over at the small alien.

"You can get on top of the tractor if you want! It's super hot!" Goku said, laying a hand on top of the aforementioned vehicle then pulling it away quickly.

Frieza sent a questioning look towards Goku, who tilted his head. The tyrant wanted to ask the man how  _exactly_ he knew he liked heat, but decided against it, just shaking his head and climbing the 'tractor'.

Instantly, he noticed the scorching warmth that radiated off the machine as he started his ascent. He wanted to melt into it, but choose to do that when he got to the top, which didn't take very long.

A pleased sigh escaped him as he began laying down on his stomach, soaking in the warmth, a relaxed smile gracing his face. The emperor started quietly purring in content, tail swishing happily behind him.

Oh, how he could almost fall asleep.

But the subtle noises of movement below him wouldn't allow him to. With droopy eyelids, he got he first good look of where they were.

Confusion started seeping into his mind.

"Goku." He addressed the man responsible for all the ruckus.

The Saiyan looked up at him in question, currently in the process of pulling a radish out of the ground. "Yeah?" Was his simple reply.

"Is this some sort of farm?"

"Yep! This is where I work." The simian said, speaking in a chipper tone.

Frieza was astonished, flabbergasted, blown away, and more exotic words for 'shocked', at the revelation. "This... Is your job...?" He said, more to himself than Goku.

"Uh-huh!"

The tyrant always knew the ape had a job but... But this wasn't what he was expecting! 

"But..." The startled Icejin began, "You're one of Earth's warriors! I would expect you to have a more vital occupation."

"Well, growing food for people to eat is important, right?" The Saiyan jovially said, plucking out the radish he had his hand on and chucking it to a basket Frieza only just noticed.

The pale alien brought a hand to his chin rubbing it thoughtfully, "I suppose... It's just I didn't expect your career to be so...  _Lowbrow_." He sneered in pompous judgment, lightly scoffing.

The man stared at him blankly.

He rolls his ruby eyes. "It means... Hm, how can I put this in a way you can understand?" The tyrant thinks for a second, tapping his chin with a finger, "It means... Uncultured... Something any old person could achieve, something that doesn't require critical thinking skills..."

He was beginning to understand why Goku had this job.

"Oh, yeah, I kinda get!" The Saiyan piped up.

 _Do you, do you really?_ The small Icejin couldn't help but ponder.

He flicked his tail absentmindedly, "Well, you are recognized for your honest deeds, yes?"

The ruthless tyrant watched as a funny expression stretched across Goku's face, the man scratching his temple. "Uh... The Earth actually has a champion, he's called Mr. Satan." The ape said, becoming suspiciously nervous.

"Odd name... But, has he at least beaten you in a fight?"

"No.."

Frieza put his chin in the palm of his hand. "Fair enough, you _are_ one _tough bastard_ to put down." He said, Goku's eyes even seeming to gleam at the backhanded compliment.

The tyrant started again. "Well, can this 'Mr.Satan' defeat the Prince?" He queried, becoming more and more suspicious of the Saiyan's unreasonably nervous attitude.

The black-haired man awkwardly chuckled. "No..."

The pale alien narrowed his eyes, his dark lips transforming into a frown. "Can this man _even_ control Ki?"

A purely guilty expression painted Goku's face like a renowned artist's canvas. He began fiddling with his fingers, occasionally scratching his head, and avoiding all eye contact with the space emperor.

"...No?"

Frieza thought he saw red for a moment.

He felt his face contort and twist in anger, beginning to speak through clenched teeth. "You're telling me," The tyrant took in a small breath, "After _all_ you do to protect this good-for-nothing, sod ridden, disastrous mistake of a planet and you're not even given acknowledgment by the people you keep safe from harm?! Tell  _me_ , what has this piece of human _scum_ ever accomplished!" The tyrant yelled.

Goku put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Woah, woah, woah! Calm down, why are you so angry about this?"

The ape did have a good point. Why _was_ he so angry? To anyone else, he would've cared less, not trying to carry on the conversation. But, yet, when the Saiyan mentioned the Earth having a champion that wasn't him, the Icejin became absolutely livid, almost trying to prove to the man himself that he was the rightful champion.

But, why? 

Was... Was it because he cared? Or was it because, when the Saiyan was disrespected, he felt like it was a personal attack on him too?

Perhaps both.

 _Gods_! How Frieza wishes one could manifest emotions into the three-dimensional world, so he can seal all these pesky feelings in a bottle, place it in a larger bottle, then into an indestructible box and damn it to an eternal abyss.

Problem _solved_!

If only things were that easy...

"You should give Mr. Satan some credit," Goku started to spout off, "He's one of the strongest humans on Earth!"

The tyrant grumbled unhappily. "I'm sure you have some earthling friends who can testify against that."

"Well... I guess?" He scratched his head unsurely, "But anyway! He's pretty neat! He's my brother-in-law...? Heh, I'm not really sure, legal stuff is weird! But Gohan married his daughter."

Frieza looked down at the Saiyan dully from his place atop the tractor. While the information of this 'champion' and his Goku's children being bond together in partnership was interesting, he could care less at the minute.

... 'His Goku'? 

When the hell did he start referring to ape as _that_!

Well, it didn't matter, because that will be the _last,_ and _only_ time, he refers to Goku as 'his', no matter how enticing the thought, sound, and feeling of the phrase may be.

He mentally cleared his thoughts, focusing back to the moment. He hummed in mock thought, "Uh-huh, very interesting Goku, but what _I_ want to know is how this man rose to such idolism in the eyes of man. It couldn't just be by impressive  _strength_."

The raven-haired man sighed, obsessively scratching his head for the third... Yes, the third time this day. "You're probably not gonna like this if you got really mad before, but..." The Saiyan's voice started to climb in pitch, becoming tenser, "He _kinda_ took credit for a battle..."

 ...

"Hey-! Don't look at me like that!" 

The tyrannical lizard inhaled, slowly, and deeply, lips forever sealed in a deep frown. "So, this ' _great hero_ ' got all his fame, because he _stole_ credit for winning a battle?" He hissed.

"Yeah-"

" _This is_ \- and excuse my crass language- _complete bullshit_!  _They_ should be erecting statues of  _you_ at this point! They should be _worshipping_   _you_."

Goku's eyes widened, taken aback by the pure intensity held in Frieza's words. He awkwardly smiled. "Uhm... It's nice to know you think of me like that, but, could you tone it down  _jussst_ a teensy bit?" The man pleaded, pinching his fingers together to make a point.

The emperor felt a bit offended that the man didn't appreciate his vouching, he doesn't exactly do that to every being in the cosmos. To anyone else, it would be an honor to have the famed 'Emperor of the Universe' preaching their worth, yet, at the same time, he could also understand why the ape felt a bit overwhelmed.

Even Frieza didn't entirely understand why he felt the need to 'defend' his enemy. He'd _much_  rather be teasing the Saiyan about not being the 'Champion of Earth'.

"Besides," Goku started to speak, "Mr. Satan has to deal with all these big crowds and that one word that starts with 'P'!"

The tyrant raised a brow. "Paparazzi?"

The ape snapped fingers. "Yeah! That's the one! Anyway," He says in a chirper tone, beginning to harvest more vegetables with ease, "I just don't want to deal with that stuff, seems too much of hassle just to be famous! And, I like my easy life, it gives me more time to train!" He said ecstatically.

 _Of course_... Frieza thought, mentally rolling his eyes,  _the monkey's always had a one-track mind._

A questioning noise bubbled up in the pale alien's throat. "Hrm... _Still_ , with all your potential, I just believe you deserve more than," He waved a hand at the landscape, " _This_." The tyrant sneered.

Goku snickered, the Icejin's tail flicking with interest at the sound. The man shook his head in amusement, looking up at Frieza. "But, I thought I was a 'lowly monkey', Freezy-pop." He stated, even air quoting.

For a moment, the emperor's eyes widened, as his cheeks became lightly rosy in color. With a scoff, he whipped his head to the right, glaring at a nearby tree. "Over time, I've had no choice  _but_ to respect you. It's a privilege few have, so enjoy it while it lasts."

With that being said, Goku seemed to happily return to his farming duties, a smile planted on his face that only served to mock the mighty tyrant.

A huff escaped the emperor, as he laid his chin on his folded arms, long tail swishing gently behind him. Suddenly a thought entered his mind, a devilishly persuasive smirk gracing his expression.

"You know, Goku," He started, propping his arms up so he could rest his face on top of his pale knuckles, "You could always work for _me_. I'm in desperate need of a right-hand man, and the soldiers could certainly use some training." The tyrant cooed.

The Saiyan only chuckled, "Thanks for the offer, but I'm good!"

Frieza only tilted his head, smirk ever-present. "I don't pay my men, but I'll make an exception for you. Not only will I reward you with money, but I'll pay you in food, sparring sessions, anything you desire really." 

Goku shook his head, still smiling. "Again, thanks for the offer, but no thanks!" The simian replied.

The tyrant couldn't help but be... Disappointed. Though he wasn't  _actually_ offering the ape a job, the man's refusal left him with downward tugging lips and a sense of dissatisfaction.

With a hum, the pale alien rested his arms back down, nuzzling his face into the crook of his right. Closing his eyes, Frieza took the time to truly appreciate the warmth radiating off of the tractor, while Goku worked below him.

It was still a mystery to the emperor as to _how_ the Saiyan knew he enjoyed basking in the heat, was he really that obvious? Well, there was always the possibility that Goku watched him while he wasn't looking...

Which is a tad creepy, arousing, flattering, and unwarranted all at the same time.

And now it's time to change that train of thought before it derails into a rabbit hole Frieza will be unable to control. And he has just the _perfect_ question to replace his previous thought.

"Goku," The Icejin called out, like a common housewife requesting for her husband. The man only let out a hum in response while he continued harvesting crops, asking all these questions clearly hindered his progress.

The white alien tilted his head, as he watched the ape work. "Can you still access Ultra Instinct?"

Not missing a beat, the Saiyan replied. "Uh, I don't think so, I've tried to, but it just doesn't happen! Kinda a bummer."

A predictable answer. Naturally, he didn't expect the ape to  _immediately_ be able to harness a power even the gods had difficulty achieving on  _command._ If Goku was able to do such a thing, that would be beyond comprehension! And Frieza would most likely be living in an alleyway on his home planet, with his pride crushed into nothingness, and his only companion being a bottle of wine.

Well, he got his answer, now what...

He supposed he could sleep. He barely got any rest thanks to that stupid dream... Or nightmare- whatever it was!

It did indeed look like Goku was going to be at this farming business for a while, so he might as well, the warmth was already lulling him to sleep.

A part of him was hesitant to let his guard down around the Saiyan. Some kind of deep-rooted instinct instilled by his father, or something, and what would happen if he woke up and started spating up a rose?

Too caught up in his own thoughts, the tyrant didn't realize how heavy his eyelids had become, and whether he wanted to or not, he quickly fell asleep.

* * *

  _Bump_

A grumble escaped the Lord.

_Bump... Bump_

He started furrowing his brows.

_Bump... Bump, Bump!_

A low moan of tired complaint escaped the tyrant as he was awakened from his deep slumber, drowsily opening his thousand-ton eyelids to reveal scarlet eyes.

Oh, if only he knew how smitten Goku was at the sight.

Groaning, Frieza rubbed his eyes vigorously, progressively becoming more aware of his surroundings. He wasn't on a tractor anymore but in some different kind of vehicle. The seat he had been sleeping on was highly uncomfortable, and as he sat up to tiredly stretch, a satisfying pop resounded from his back.

Gods... Everything was _sore_ , how long had he been curled up on that seat? Well, at least he didn't have another dream...

He felt something slide down his back, but he didn't have time to think about it.

"Hey, you're finally awake!" Goku chirped from the driver's seat, a trace of a blush on his face.

_Why was he blushing?_

"Saiyan?" Frieza says, voice gravelly from just waking up, "Where are we..." He heard the same noise responsible for disturbing his rest once again, "And what is that noise?" He asked, voice full of irritation.

"Well, were in my truck! And that noise is the boxes of vegetables in the back." The ape happily answered, pointing his thumb to the back.

It was at this point, that the emperor had noticed the man was missing his tan jacket, revealing the black undershirt that Frieza sinfully reveled in the sight of.

He was going to ask the man where it had gone, but he didn't need to. The pale Icejin awkwardly looked over his shoulder, a blush covering his face at the tan jacket that was draped across his back.

Goku must've sensed the questioning air around the emperor.

"I thought you needed a blanket! I know my jacket's no blanket, but I try..." He chuckled, rubbing his neck. The tyrant could only suppress his blush and feelings as he hummed, quietly slipping off the previously mentioned jacket.

"So," He began, placing the piece clothing in between their seats, "How long was I asleep?"

The Saiyan perked up at that. "Like, forever!" Goku exclaimed. His hands, which were clutching the steering wheel, opened up for emphasize.

"I was able to put you in the tractor, drive to a different location to get this truck, then put you in the truck, place all the vegetables in the back, and you slept through it all! You were really passed out!" The ape said in astonishment.

Frieza grumbled, he must've been  _much_ more tired than he thought...

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw those coal eyes shift over to him, drenched in concern. The emperor couldn't help but mentally roll his eyes, growling under his breath. He'll say it again and he's said before, he doesn't  _need_ or  _want_ the ape's concern.

 Goku looked back at the dirt road, and then looked back at the Icejin.

Said Icejin could see the intent in them.

"Where are we going?" The tyrant cleverly said before Goku even had a chance to open his mouth and voice his concerns.

"Oh," The man said, taken off guard, "We're heading to a market place, so I can sell all my vegetables! You'll probably have to stay in the truck though... People don't really know about aliens."

Frieza rolled his eyes as he leaned over to the window, resting an elbow, somewhat uncomfortably, on the panel. "I'm aware." Was his short grumble of a response.

In the corner of the emperor's peripheral, he could see another vehicle ahead of them, except it seemed to be broken down. The tyrant thought nothing of it, opting to focus on the bleak desert that laid beyond.

Suddenly, he felt the truck stop and then heard a door open. Confused, the pale overlord shot a wide-eyed look at the man, who seemed oddly giddy as he jumped out of the truck, shutting the door behind him.

Frieza watched with mild interest, as Goku proceeded to chat with a man who seemed to just have materialized out of thin air. A part of him debated whether he should lay low and hide, or just sit back and enjoy the show.

He chose the latter.

After years of being surrounded by metaphorical leeches and snakes, he knew what was likely to come next.

One moment, the Saiyan was lifting up the truck, and the next, he was being held at gunpoint by six men. This was exactly what Frieza was expecting, scoffing at Goku's naive nature for being so blind to this obvious trap, yet the man still seemed oddly giddy about the whole situation.

How strange... Well, at least this will be entertaining to watch, Goku will no doubt dismantle these poor souls with ease! And if he has... _Trouble_ , well... That's just one more problem taken care of.

He swallowed his pitiful worry.

The foolish men, who thought they had the upper hand, started shouting all types of orders at the Saiyan, who showed zero compliance.

It was quite humorous, seeing Goku being all nonchalant and the goons clearly confused, thinking the man probably had a death wish or was just stupid.

While both those statements were quite true- especially the 'death wish' part-  _they_ were the stupid ones in this scenario.

 Every time the robbers got progressively mad, the ape would get more excited, his fingers twitching in anticipation. Curious... It was like he was intentionally aggravating them.

_What does this monkey have planned?_

And, as a bomb is destined to explode, the men began shooting.

Which was exactly what Goku was waiting for.

With incredible speed to fast for the human eye, the Saiyan began dodging the bullets. An air of confusion surrounded the attackers, to them, it looked like they were shooting air, but Frieza's trained eyes could see everything.

In a split second, Goku reappeared in front of one of the shocked men, kicking his gun out of his shaky hands. The ape then flicked the robbers head playfully, effectively knocking the man out, before going back to evading bullets.

The tyrant leaned forward in interest from his position in the truck, watching as the Saiyan almost toyed with the earthlings. The simian seemed to be purposefully showy, reminding Frieza of the warriors in his planet's colosseum who would try to win his family's praise.

 _Was... Was Goku trying to..._ Impress  _him? But... Why?_

The thought was flattering, yes, and maybe he enjoyed it a little too much, but it didn't make any sense? He hated to admit it, but the ape was already impressive enough as it is! Also, why try to prove his worth against a bunch of low-life humans?

He ignored the heat that slowly crept upon his face, as his tail curled coyly.

The emperor returned his attention to the fight, already seeing how much action he had missed. Two more goons were passed out, with one of their guns breaking the laws of reality, as it was twisted into a makeshift bow, and the other one was firmly planted into the ground.

Well, Goku was certainly having fun.

You know, Frieza really didn't see the point of knocking them out when it was much easier to kill them, _but.._.

' _Morality_ ' or the other.

Right now, the simian was up against- wait, let him rephrase that- ' _playing_ ' with the two other robbers. The tyrant couldn't help but question where the third piece of scum went, but all he did was mentally shrug, assuming he had just missed that part while he was consumed in those embarrassing thoughts.

A rain of gunfire was aimed squarely at the Saiyan, a sad attempt by the humans to defeat the 'monster' that was Goku. A smirk stretched across the Saiyan's face, as he simply raised a hand, catching all the bullets. The face on the two robbers as the black-haired man slowly opened his hand, allowing a shower of bullets to drop, was priceless.

Frieza smirked, as he rolled his eyes adoringly. 

 _Show off,_ was his simple thought.

A curious hum escaped him as the driver-side door was opened hastily, figuring out the answer to his previous query. The originally thought missing man quickly jumped into the driver's seat, too caught up in his own haste to realize the obvious _alien_ right beside him.

The tyrant felt no fear about the goon who naively sat next to him, and why would he? The most terrifying thing in this truck right now is _him_. He made no move to make his presence known, wanting the man to notice him all by himself, which would make things all the more _enjoyable_ for the sadistic tyrant.

 Luckily, he didn't have to wait long, because, with a shift of his tail, the man was already scrambling out the truck. The emperor casually followed him out into the arid landscape, reveling in the fear that exuded off of the robber. He paid little attention to how the previous commotion stopped, before picking back up again, but what he _did_ notice was the bullet that whizzed dangerously pass his head.

Of course, the measly piece of metal could never hurt him, but it did annoy him. The Icejin turned his attention to where the Saiyan and the two other men were. The slight jump by the goon Goku was tussling- well, more like 'apprehending'- with for his gun, was the only sign Frieza needed.

The tyrant shifted his attention towards his new prey, caring little about his previous target. The man barely had time to react, it was as if both his kneecaps were butter and the tyrant's death beam was a _knife._ He collapsed on the ground in anguish, a grueling scream ripping through his throat.

The pale emperor would be lying if he didn't say he enjoyed this. It was so _thrilling,_ he hasn't been able to muddy his hands up lately, so caught up in his work and agonizing back and forths in his head, not to mention the 'Hanahaki Disease', he just didn't have a place for it in his thoughts.

But, oh, how he missed this feeling of overwhelming satisfaction from seeing another _writhe_ in pain because of _his_ power.

It was as addicting as his unwelcomed emotions for the monkey.

As the man continued to squirm on the ground, the last of the still conscious goons didn't mind leaving their friend behind, racing for their gritty, old, truck. Frieza didn't want the rest of his toys to leave yet, he was having too much fun to just spend it on _one_ soul.

How sad... he wanted to continue watching his current plaything suffer, but plans change.

His red gaze found interest in a rather pointy rock some distance away. Lifting up two fingers, the cruel emperor used his telekinesis to lift the puny object.

Before he does what he plans to do, he spared a glance at Goku, who had been oddly subservient throughout this entire ordeal. He should've stopped this moments ago, that was his whole schtick, being the 'good guy', but the Saiyan was just frozen, shocked, like he was having a hard time processing things.

The tyrant buried any sort of worry deep in the pit of his stomach, allowing anger to rise up, which only further fed into his sadistic tendencies.

The still helplessly writhing man's screams were silenced, as the sharp rock drove into his skull and all the way to the back of his head. His body fell completely to the ground with a large 'thump', fingers twitching wildly.

 _Ah, cadaveric spasms, always a treat_.

Goku seemed to finally regain his wits at that point. He snapped his head towards the tyrant, the sadistic lizard now setting his sights on the fleeing survivors. "Frieza, stop!"

 A part of the pale alien was relieved the ape finally came back to his senses, no matter how annoying they are. It was getting odd with the Saiyan just sitting back and doing  _nothing._

But, with that said, he ignored the man's plea, he was having to much fun to stop now! He didn't care if, deep down, he wanted to obey the Saiyan's plead, make him happy; He was going to enjoy himself!

With all the stress he's been put through lately, he _deserves_ this.

The decaying truck, while it was quite a distance away now, was an easy target for someone like Frieza. He always loves when his prey is lured into the false belief they've escaped danger, are safe from harm, when that couldn't be farther from the truth.

A death beam was poised and ready to shoot his unsuspecting targets when his wrist was caught in a crushing grip and pulled upwards. The force of the movement made him stumble, and the lock-tight grip had him release a small hiss of pain. 

He could only stare up at the Saiyan with an odd expression border lining on cool-collection and burning fury. 

But the Icejin was surprised by what he saw in those black eyes.

Of course, there was the obvious anger he expected and almost bathed in the sight of, then there was betrayal, hurt, sadness, all emotions he never anticipated for.

That's when metaphorical knife stabbed him. Once again, he was feeling guilt, such an obnoxious emotion it was.

The emperor's hardy gaze softened for a second before it returned with double the force. He violently ripped his hand away from the ape's hold, and Goku let him, the pale alien starting to gently nurse it with a sneer.

Neither of them looked at the other, with Frieza's back turned and Goku staring at the ground, rubbing his head.

The tyrant refused to look at the man, that expression was just imprinted in the forefront of his mind, but not in a 'sadistic pleasure' way- like an old photograph he would fondly remember- and he didn't like that.

It was just like that time he had refused Goku's gift at the party. The proud emperor would never admit it, but anyone could see how dearly beloved the spaceship was to him now, but at the time, he disregarded it.

And the look the Saiyan held in his eyes as he did, smiling like everything was dandy...

Another angry hiss rolled off his tongue at these  _feelings,_ they were getting really  _tiring_.

Goku furrowed his brows, rubbing his temples. In a voice lower than it's usual upbeat tone, the Saiyan tiredly said. "Get in the truck."

The tyrant stubbornly complied, stomping over to the vehicle like an angry toddler. Getting inside, he slammed the door, leaning against the cool window to at least calm down. He still nursed his wrist, out of pain or subconscious, he didn't know.

It was at times like these, that the two realized their differences... Goku was a hero and Frieza was a villain. The fact that they're able to stand next to each other without ripping the other's throat out- or, more specifically, Frieza- for this long, amazed the tyrant.

But it shouldn't be possible,  _nothing_ about the entire situation he was in should be possible. He should have never caught feelings for the ape, the 'Hanahaki Disease' should be a myth, they should still hate each other's guts... And yet, here he is.

A villain and a hero could never work out, everything he was doing to try and cure himself was _pointless_. If only he could get the woman to do the damn surgery, or just muster up his hatred and kill the oaf himself!

... At least he knew, every good thing must come to an end, at  _some point._

He just didn't know if he was delighted or fearful of that fact.

The tyrant subconsciously waited for the man to hop into the truck, but Goku didn't, not yet. Instead, he went to the back of the large vehicle and opened it, Frieza watching with limited vision and mild intrigue.

The Saiyan returned back into his line of sight, holding a large box that contained some of the ape's fresh produce, placing it down next to the three unconscious goons he had knocked out.

The Icejin had _completely_ forgotten about them.

Frieza couldn't help but watch on, curiosity turning into mild confusion. Why was the monkey doing this? He understands it as a generous action, yes, but why? These men tried to rob him, why be thoughtful towards a person who's done nothing but tried to almost kill you? The Saiyan had nothing to gain from these unfortunate men by being kind to them.

Pity.

That's why.

Then the emperor began to see the parallels.

He's robbed the man's friends and family of him and done nothing but _try_ to kill him. Goku had nothing to gain by spending time with him or being kind...

_Was everything they've done all out of pity?_

Was he really  _that_ starved of affection, that the moment someone takes time to actually know him, sweeps him off his feet?! Was he falling for a lie this entire time?!

 _No, no, no_ , part of his brain whispered,  _he was Goku..._

 _Yes_. He _was_ Goku indeed, which could mean all Frieza was to him was an exclusive punching bag that the man had to talk to every now and then.

_No!_

_Yes!_

_No!_

_Yes!_

_No-_

The truck shifted, as another presence joined the overthinking alien. Goku closed the door shut as he sat in the driver seat, turning the large vehicle on. The man still wore a stern expression, a sense of woe held deep in those dark eyes.

With a small huff, Frieza sat up from his slouching position to look over the dashboard, scanning the terrain for the man he just speared with a rock, but he was nowhere to be found.

Returning to leaning against the window, the mighty tyrant brought his knees up to his pale chest, small size allowing him to do so with little uncomfortability. As the truck started to move, the Icejin chalked the dead earthling's disappearance to Goku.

He probably disintegrated the body with a ki blast or buried it somewhere.

It didn't really matter.

Endless, desert, landscapes, slowly turned into something a little more lively. Rolling green pastures greeted the white alien's bloody gaze, as he was consumed in his thoughts once again.

Some part of the Icejin wanted to further agitate the simian in spite, another part wanted to hiss and moan in anguish, while a different side desired to almost _coddle_  the Saiyan besides him.

In the end, he ignored those urges, as he spared short glances at the Saiyan from time to time, feeling the man occasionally do the same.

Sparse, scatterings of buildings began to decorate the green terrain, an obvious sign they were getting closer to civilization. He didn't know how long it took- things just started to blend together in his mind- but soon, they were entering a marketplace of sorts. 

Frieza had enough sense to crudely hide from sight under the window, but if someone looked in, they could easily spot him. The tyrant didn't put much effort into concealing himself from the public, he was still a bit angry at the monkey for ruining his fun.

Also, at this point, he was avoiding any and all thoughts that circulated around the man pitying him, but he'd be a liar if he didn't admit that was partially the reason he was so foolhardy.

Good thing that was exactly what he was.

"Here." The melancholy voice of Goku startled the tyrant out of his wits. He didn't even recognize the voice at first, it was so flat and dull... It sounded nothing like the happy-go-lucky man he's grown a soft spot for.

An extended hand held the tan jacket that was previously between their seats. Frieza could see that the man was trying to subtly avoid eye contact, but failing miserably, because the tyrant figured that out fairly quickly. 

"This will help you hide." Goku continued. The alien grabbed the garment and their eyes met for a moment.

He thought he had been gutted like fish.

The Saiyan looked like a kicked puppy, and that overwhelming guilt washed over him. Part of the Icejin whispered that the man was being overdramatic about the death of a human no one would miss, perhaps even playing up to gain his sympathy, to make an emotional fool out of Frieza.

Truthfully, Goku didn't need to be sad to do  _that_ , hell, he's already been making an 'emotional fool' out of the ruthless emperor.

Anyways, for one, the death of the robber didn't seem to be the thing bothering Goku, it was the tyrant's actions. But why? I mean, he's  _Lord Frieza,_ killing people and mass genocide is kinda what he's known for, and the ape should know that better than anyone! He supposes the man would be upset about his recent actions, but not  _this_ upset.

Number two, Goku had no reason to fake his sadness. If yesterday was an example of anything, the ape wasn't the type of person to do things for his own gain, and... Frieza was highly adept at seeing through facades, but the set jaw, downcast eyes, the thin line his lips made that tugged downward ever so slightly? That wasn't a facade, he was genuinely upset.

And not just upset as 'sad', but he was angry, angry at Frieza.

Normally, the tyrant would revel in that rage, but he just couldn't... He... Also felt upset.

_It was pathetic._

He watched as Goku hopped out of the truck, about to close the door as he looked at the pale Icejin with a stern face. "Don't leave this truck," the Saiyan said firmly, then his face softened slightly, eyebrows furrowing, "Please?" He almost pleaded.

The tyrant wanted to revolt, dismiss the orders just to prove a point to himself and Goku, that these weak emotions won't hold him back from being his cruel, conniving, self! But...

With a sigh, Frieza looked away from the ape, tail swishing in annoyance as he stubbornly put on the two-sizes-too-large jacket. That was the only response Goku needed to know his answer.

A grateful sigh could be heard escaping the man as he finally closed the door. A strange sense of fulfillment engulfed the emperor at the sound, making his chest feel warm and fuzzy and intolerable.

At least now he can scold himself for such feelings without distraction.

_Damn emotions, this is all the flower's fault!... Yes, the flower... This is because of the flower and nothing else._

The jacket was so large on him, it nearly swallowed his entire being whole! Its warmth was a welcomed gift Frieza happily accepted, contrasting against the bitter, cold, thoughts in his mind.

He could hear the commotion of people outside his place in the truck. Not being able to resist his curiosity- and childish need to prove a petty point- the Icejin lifted up a piece of the tan cloth with his tail, enabling himself a way to see into the outside world without being  _too_ noticeable.

They were in a marketplace, that much was obvious and didn't come off as a surprise. From the landscapes they passed by on their way here, the tyrant deduced that they were in the sticks.

Understandable, most farms were in rural areas, and this place was just _infested_ with farmers. It was easy to distinguish a farmer from the dry, cracked, skin on their fingertips, and the mud-stained apparel they wore.

His red eyes roved around the marketplace like a drone searching for a criminal, and how unbelievably easy it was to find the man that had no right to steal his heart and leave him to bleed out on the cold sidewalk.

Goku was 'happily' chatting with an older man, who was a human and slightly chubby.

 

 

Seeing that joyful smile accompanied by those deepened, set, eyes, always made the Icejin feel a sense of unease and, stupidly enough, regret.

_He shouldn't be regretful, he should be proud._

The ape's act might be able to fool anyone else, but not the emperor who excelled at the craft. Suddenly, Goku pointed in the direction of the truck.

His tail swiftly whipped back to his side, his little peephole vanishing along with the outside light, now completely shrouded in inky, darkness.

While his species weren't exactly known for their hearing ability- it was quite drawl compared to other _certain_ aliens- he could hear footsteps getting louder than quieter. He assumed they must have passed by his side of the truck, deciding to take a risk and pop his head out of the tan clothing for a second.

A loud noise startled the poor tyrant, ducking his head under the jacket once again like a turtle. From underneath his miniature cave of fabric and wool, the pale alien could hear things shifting in the back. He could only assume Goku, and perhaps that man, were moving boxes around.

Frieza listened on to the sounds around him, becoming a blind man in the world of sight; his tools the constant chatter of noise. The back of the truck would let out a groaning creak under the pressure of a foot, boxes would scrap against one another as they were plucked from their spot on cold metal, the stomping feet followed by a solemn gait periodically getting louder and quieter as minutes passed...

All forming together into a rhythmic melody of repetitive motions. 

It was calming to the emperor, yet  _exhilarating_ , at the same time. He'd have to arrange a bit of a game for their next sparring session, the ape would just love it! A fight where neither contestant could see...

 _A_   _soft face looked back at him with excitement brimming in every muscle and bone. His smile looked up towards the sun, challenged for its radiance, and won. The dying embers he held imprisoned within those clear windows began a new again, flickering with a heated spark._ _Chrysanthemum petals licked at the man's face, bordering the rest of his body in a sea of colors._

A blink.

Then another.

 _What the hell was that?_ He questioned.

Anger hadn't even set in yet, he was just... Shocked as to what just transpired. 

It was normal for him to daydream but not like, er...  _That_. Usually, he'll daydream about relaxing after a stressful day with some wine... And then somehow the Saiyan worms his way into his thought process.

Actually, he remembers something similar happening to him when he was at that woman's lab for the first time.

A frustrated sigh escaped him,  _so that Saiyan figured out another way to be all-consuming in my thoughts? Marvelous._

He was positive anyone could hear the sarcasm dripping from his tone, despite the fact that he was thinking.

His senses picked up voices, muffled by the jacket and truck respectively. A few seconds later, the talking stopped, replaced by the sound of approaching footsteps. The tyrant wasn't surprised when he heard the driver side door open and the sound of someone sitting down on the seat, a loud slam resounding from the door now being closed.

The Icejin slithered around under the tan jacket, turning himself around completely towards the direction of the Saiyan.

It must have been quite the display from the outside.

The engine started up just as Frieza popped his head out from under the large piece of clothing, a hint of agitation on his face, so naturally, his pale cheeks were slightly puffed. The terrifying emperor's expression was unintentionally hilarious, and, quite adorable.

Goku's lips quirked up as he saw the alien, a small amused huff escaping him before a thoughtful expression graced his face, the small smile vanishing.

Frieza's annoyance left him for  _just_ a moment, then returned in full force. Copying Goku, a huff escaped him, but it wasn't amused. He swiveled his head to the side in anger, subconsciously cuddling into the ape's jacket like a child would their blanket for comfort.

The Icejin sat up, not caring if anyone saw him through the windows. They were currently leaving the marketplace, and most of the people there were country bumpkins, telling the authorities would do nothing, so it really didn't matter.

Besides, what could a couple of earthlings do to  _him_? Shoot him with their little guns? Oh my, _so_ terrifying!

A small grin spread across his face at the mental image. He didn't know why, but his hand went back to rubbing his neglected wrist.

It didn't even hurt, so, truly the action was a mystery to him, but it was... Comforting. A way to keep his hands busy while his mind was occupied with other things, staring blankly at the boring green hills they already passed.

Silence stood between them as they crossed the desert again- Frieza noticed a distinct lack of unconscious humans and a box-, then Goku's farm, and now, a forest-steppe, which seemed oddly familiar...

But, it was a forest, and frankly, they all looked the goddamn same, with some exceptions. So, who knows?

His tail swished occasionally, and the jacket that hung on his shoulders wasn't  _all_ that uncomfortable, so he let it stay on with little qualms.

Besides the obvious fact that it was _Goku's_.

Gazes would linger on his form from time to time, before looking back at the road. The ape clearly wanted to say something.

"Sorry." 

Frieza, for one of the few times since he killed that robber, looked Goku in the eye with a quizzical expression.

The man carelessly pointed a finger at the Icejin, barely paying attention to the dirt road ahead of them, which was a bit concerning. 

"Your wrist," he continued, the tyrant's eyes widening. The emperor had forgotten he was doing that, the action becoming irrelevant when he was enthralled in his own thoughts.

The Saiyan looked back at the road thankfully, scratching his head. The familiar, 'in character', gesture brought an annoying amount of comfort to the small alien.

"You know, 'instincts' and all." Goku further explained, awkwardly chuckling. Frieza's face went back to a neutral state, only barely bordering on a frown as an 'oh' resounded from his lips as he removed his hand from his wrist.

His eyes shifted back to the window. "It's fine." 

The curt response wasn't making this easy for the both of them.

Another moment of silence. 

they seemed to be having those a lot recently. 

"Hey, Frieza, could you... Never do what you did in the desert again? Or at least, not in front of me?" Goku let out a poor resemblance of a light chuckle before continuing, "I don't want to send you back to hell again! You've been fun..."

Whatever light-hearted resolve the man was trying to accomplish, was failing miserably.

The Saiyan's words only made him fume, a million thoughts rushing across his mind in a single second.

It was always a poor choice to throw around demands at the Lord. Frieza  _hated_ being bossed around, that is  _his_ job, and no one has the right to do so to him! Not some worm beneath his feet, not a filthy monkey, and  _especially_ not  _Goku_.

Bringing up his numerous defeat by the man's hands, was also a very poor decision on the ape's part.

_'You've been fun'?_

_You really are just his punching bag._

A low growl came from the tyrant. "That earthling  _deserved_ it, I did  _nothing wrong_."

Goku sighed tiredly, " _Frieza_ -"

" _No_! Don't you ' _Frieza_ ' me, Saiyan! They attacked _us_ first, that means fair game!" He hissed. The emperor wasn't going to pretend he killed that man in self-defense, they _both_ knew why he did it.

"I  _purposefully_ got them to attack me!" Goku said in a loud voice, not a shout, but it was stern and annoyed.

The alien paused. "What...?"

Confusion overrode his anger in an instant. He thought the way the simian acted during the encounter with the thieves was odd, and one of his suspicions was proven true, but he still wanted more answers.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.

"I'll sometimes try to be robbed, and you looked bored, so I thought I could maybe make the trip more exciting for you, but I kinda failed..." Goku's dark eyebrows drew together quizzically, "Or succeeded too much?"

Frieza had to resist letting out a snort at that.

Well, that explained many things. Gods, the tyrant wanted to bang his head against the dashboard for thinking the man wanted to 'impress' him! Of course, knowing Goku went out of his way to liven up the trip for him, was very flattering as well, but he can't believe he was stupid enough to think the Saiyan wanted to impress him!

These _damn_ emotions are messing with his brain and the 'Hanahaki Disease' certainly isn't helping. He wishes everything could go back to the way it was, where he could kill without a second thought, where he could look at the ape with only hatred in his eyes.

If only that was his reality still.

"Are you always attacked by thieves?" The tyrant questioned.

Goku thought for a moment, before shrugging. "I've gotten tricked a couple of times, and," he chuckled awkwardly, "You might think this is weird, but I kinda go out of my way to get them to attack me, just to teach them a lesson and because 'why not?', y'know." 

The pale emperor sported a playful smirk as he leaned closer to the simian. "Oh my, is that the enjoyment of holding power over others I hear?" He cooed, tail swishing with interest. 

Goku seems like someone with no flaws to the average person, but it's people like Frieza who can see the darker side of the man.

The uninhibited lust for battle, his carelessness of others, and the arrogance he hides so well.

Some could even describe the man as a toddler with unbridled power rivaling that of a god's.

If unsupervised, he could bring down the fall of the entire universe... Again.

Goku chuckled at the Icejin's comment, gently shoving a white shoulder with a hand. "I've been hanging out with you too much! Your bad traits are rubbing off on me."

A dramatic gasp escaped Frieza's velvety lips, before puckering them in a pout. "Don't start blaming  _me_ for your detestable qualities, that's all  _you_." He crossed his arms, "Accept that, and things will be a lot easier."

"Ok, so do the exact opposite of what you do?"

A gasp.

"You passive-aggressive ass!"

Giggles emitted from Saiyan, the sound making the tyrant's lips twitch up. The atmosphere had gone from something tense and suffocating to an airy, light, feeling.

It was a nice change.

Goku's laughter died down slowly, shaking his head a moment later. "But seriously, promise me you won't do that again?" He asked lightly, but that didn't stop the white alien from groaning.

Of course, they _had_ to circle back to the topic that originally started this conversation.

He leaned back into his seat, propping an arm on the armrest, before setting his chin comfortably on his knuckles. Frieza didn't respond to Goku's question immediately, taking his time mulling over what to say. Finally, he decided on a response

He shrugged. "I can't guarantee anything."

Goku just gave him a look.

The small tyrant let out a soft growl, rolling his eyes. The jacket started slipping off his shoulders without warning, voluntarily re-adjusting it back to its rightful place without notice. "Oh fine, if it's really bothering you, then I suppose I can... _Comply_."

He cringed at the word.

It only really sounded right when spoken by the lips of a worthless whelp.

The Saiyan's face lit up at his answer, about to say something else, but a waggling, white finger, prevented him from doing so.

"Ah, ah, ah, you really think I would agree to something like that without reason? I thought you knew me better Goku..." He coos, "In return for restraining myself from harming others around your proximity, I want..."

He paused, the ape waiting for his request expectantly.

_What... What do I want...?_

Ugh, he should have thought of this beforehand. Truthfully, Frieza just came up with the ruse that he had ulterior motives for agreeing. The emperor's emotions were starting to get the better of him, yesterday was proof of that, he didn't want the simian to think he was becoming  _soft._

The Icejin bit his lip in thought, and Goku didn't know why his eyes were so drawn to the action, but his line of sight always trailed to those plush lips when the villain talked. He doesn't know why that happens... But...

_He thought back to the pool._

He thinks he has an idea.

The Saiyan looked back at the road, _finally_ , taking his eyes off the alien with a small blush.

Frieza spent more time mulling over his options than he liked. He could always ask for a sparring match, Goku would agree to that in a heartbeat, but that was far too simple. Perhaps the Dragonballs? No, the man would never give him that...

Maybe this jacket? It was warm and felt nice on his person, but it belonged to Goku. He wasn't worried about that fact as much as he was worried about what he would do with it. The tan clothing was far too big for him to wear... He could use it as a blanket but... 

A thought entered his mind and a blush crossed his face.

So, that's another option marked off the list.

Argh, Dammit! He's backed himself into a corner!

"So, uh... Do you know what you want Freezy-Pop?" Goku asked, thinking the tyrant was taking an unusual amount of time coming up with an answer.

The alien's eyes widened.

 _Dear lords, that's it,_ he thought, then sighed internally,  _this is singlehandedly the most asinine thing I will ever request, but, silver lining, they taste good._

"Actually, yes." Frieza responded to the Saiyan.

Goku perked up, taking his coal eyes off the road for a second to look at the little lizard. "Awesome! What is it?"

A small tint of red painted the tyrant's cheeks, he couldn't believe he was going to ask this. "I... I want more of those 'popsicles', or so you call them, I find them quite... Delectable." His pale face visibly scrunched up once he finished his hash request. 

It was so embarrassing... This would be fine if it was anyone else, yet it just _had_ to be Goku.

He expected a chuckle, not the shocked tone that came in response.

"Wait, that's it?" Asked Goku, sparing a glance at the emperor.

" _Yes._ " He hissed, avoiding those obsidian eye's piercing gaze the best he could.

The royal Icejin could hear the happy grin in the simian's voice as he spoke. "Yeah, I can do that! But if I do, you better not go back on your promise, alright?" Goku said in an almost chiding tone.

Frieza didn't even have a chance to let a childish grumble out before the raven-haired man continued. "Just like you did on that planet when I told you, 'no more sucker punches'."

Blink, and you might've missed the space emperor whip his head violently towards Goku. "I  _did not_ lie, because _I_ didn't agree to anything!" He said defensively.

"I'm _pretty_ sure you did."

" _I did not!_ "

"Are you _sure_?"

" _Yes!_"

"I don't know, Frieza... I remember you agreeing on that..."

"Dear _gods_!  _I DID NOT_."

"You're _super_ sure on that?"

"STOP PROVOKING ME."

A grumpy huff escaped the tyrannical overlord, his ivory face now looked like a red pufferfish; cheeks puffed and scarlet with anger.

The small alien was beyond annoyed.

Goku couldn't restrain the chuckles that came from his lips, the expression was just too hilarious for him to handle.

Growling in frustration, Frieza hissed. " _What?!_ "

His tone was supposed to sound menacing, strict, and firm, yet who could take him seriously when he looked so comical?

The Saiyan's chuckles slowly started to control themselves, eyes filled to the brim with mirth as he looked at the emperor. "I-I'm sorry, you just look so funny!" The man barely could get out.

Frowning, Frieza was about to retort, but there was something else held in the ape's eyes besides mirth as he gazed down at him. The Icejin couldn't pinpoint what that emotion was, or maybe he just didn't want to, either way, it made that cheesy, lovey-dovey, feeling return to his chest.

His face wasn't just red because of anger anymore.

With an annoyed grumble, Frieza faced away from Goku, opting to lean against the door and stare blankly out the window at the trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God guys, I'm so sorry this took so long, but, life and all that great stuff got in the way. Especially my procrastination.  
> Anyways, I hope you all liked this new chapter, it isn't anything special, but still! ^^
> 
> By the way, I have a twitter now! It's the same as my username on here, so it shouldn't be hard to find. I'll be posting progress updates on chapters (also random stuff, hopefully, you don't mind-), and maybe even some drawings!
> 
> Also, thank you all for 2000+ hits!! Like- How?! I can't even put into words how grateful I am for that!

**Author's Note:**

> Oof so this is a thing a did. This was gonna be a oneshots but then I realised how long it would be if it was one, so I just decided to do chapters instead. Updates will vary, with ya know school, personal life, motivation, blah blah blah, but most chapters will take me a while to write so I probably won't be updating regularly.
> 
> ....  
> I need more Friku in my life.


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